By Ted Chisholm
Ted Chisholm
The Milwaukee County Treasurer’s Office has operated ineffectively, “out of sight and out of mind,” for too long. Our community deserves better. I am running for County Treasurer in the August 13 Democratic primary because you deserve a proven fiscal innovator with a vision for real leadership and the experience to get the job done properly. I will apply my experience in county government to provide better customer service and do everything possible to help members of our community prevent tax delinquency and foreclosure.
The County Treasurer leads an office of ten employees who manage Milwaukee County’s banking, check issuance and accounts receivable functions, invest surplus funds, and collect delinquent property taxes in every Milwaukee County municipality except the City of Milwaukee. I will be a working County Treasurer, applying my experience to provide active leadership while modernizing the office. I previously served as the Senior Administrator for Management, Finance, and Strategy in the office of Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court Anna Maria Hodges. In this role, I managed a $42 million budget, managed and improved the office’s accounting and purchasing services, and oversaw major grants and contracts. I also directed the courts’ jury management and information technology offices. I was previously chief of staff to former Sheriff Earnell Lucas, assisting him in reforming and leading a 700-employee agency.
As County Treasurer, I will make the tax collection process more compassionate and more effective. I will never place the burden of navigating this process on homeowners struggling to keep up with taxes due to financial difficulties – like the loss of income, mounting medical debt, or the death of a family member who leaves behind property with an existing tax debt. If elected, I will do everything possible so that the Treasurer’s Office makes personal contact with each homeowner who falls behind on payments. Working with the taxpayer, we will offer and develop individualized payment options that are realistic for the taxpayer and legally compliant. In cases where an ongoing delinquency puts a home at risk of foreclosure, I will work directly with the taxpayer to resolve the delinquency before legal action takes place.
I will also tackle the problem of vacant properties with outstanding tax debts. Boarded-up homes impact Milwaukee County neighborhoods while vacant commercial properties are missed opportunities for building wealth in our county. As County Treasurer, I will prioritize enforcement and work with local partners, including municipalities, neighborhood stakeholders and local businesses, to find creative options that restore these properties to the fabric of Milwaukee County neighborhoods. While the County Treasurer’s Office does not manage or sell the properties that it acquires, I will work closely with Milwaukee County’s economic development office to ensure a positive impact in the eighteen serviced municipalities as long-vacant properties return to the tax rolls. Similarly, I will advocate for incentives that support first-time homeowners and provide them the support to acquire properties in any community of their choosing.
Our community deserves a new vision of improved customer service and more effective tax policies in the Treasurer’s Office. Together, we can make this vision a reality on August 13.
Please vote for me, Ted Chisholm for Milwaukee County Treasurer!