By Courier Staff
Tom Barrett
In an effort to bring attention to recent state budget discussions that directly impact the City of Milwaukee, Council President Willie L. Hines, Jr., Alderman Terry Witkowski and other Council members held a news conference this week in the rotunda of City Hall.
“I’d like to call on the Republican legislators who sponsored the residency bill to sponsor a bill to repeal the Republican legislation that forces Milwaukee taxpayers to pay approximately a quarter of a million dollars annually for police and fire union officials to negotiate against the taxpayers’ interests. Per state law initiated in the era of Tommy Thompson, the city is obligated to pay the salaries of fire and police union representatives— the very same representatives who lobby against the best interests of taxpayers of this city,” Alderman Witkowski said.
Recent announcements in the budget struggle include a bill designed to free fire and police professionals from the city’s residency requirement. “The residency bill is the work of suburban legislators working against Milwaukee ’s interest and looking after their own economic gain. Thousands of well-paid professionals moving into the suburbs boosts their economy, but doesn’t represent regionalism—it’s simply anti-Milwaukee,” Ald. Witkowski said.
Witkowski argues these developments point to positioning police and fire professionals not as a protected class, but rather as a privileged class.
“I’d like to call on Governor Walker to demonstrate that this move is not simply an election payback by stating that he will now veto the residency bill when it crosses his desk,” Ald. Witkowski said. “State leaders should also recognize and work toward lifting Milwaukee ’s burden of paying the very lobbyists who advocate taking thousands of well-paid workers out of the city.”
Willie Hines, Jr.
President Hines is the lead sponsor of a resolution opposing these measures which will be heard at the Judiciary and Legislation Committee.
Mayor Tom Barrett weighed in on the issue earlier this week by saying, “Today we learned that Republican State Senators Vukmir, Wanggaard and Lazich have introduced a bill to repeal the City of Milwaukee’s ability to retain residency as a condition of employment for members of the Milwaukee Police and Fire Departments.
“Since 1930, the City of Milwaukee has had residency as a condition of employment and, in that time, the City has had no problem in attracting job applicants. In our most recent recruitments, we had 5,711 applications for the position of firefighter and 3,569 applicants for the position of police officer.
“Each of these 9,280 job applicants was fully aware that residency in the City of Milwaukee is a condition of employment.
“If recruitment was a problem, the Common Council and I would address it. We don’t need big brother, State Government interfering in our local affairs, searching for a solution to a problem that does not exist.
“The Senate Republicans are paying back two of their favorite special interest groups. They are not looking out for Milwaukee’s middle class taxpayers and they are trampling on the fundamental principles of local control. Please get back to the issue of creating more jobs. That’s what we need.” Barrett concluded.
The firefighters union said, “It affords our members the liberty and freedom to choose where they want to live and potentially raise a family.”
The Milwaukee Police Association said, “This is absolutely a liberty and freedom issue; just as some officers will exercise their right to raise their family outside the city, many others will remain.”
Yet, a major benefit to this law that has been in existence as the Mayor said since1930 has countless benefits that outweigh the position that these two unions have. Ald. Bob Bauman stated, when firefighters and policemen are also your neighbors, that makes a huge difference in how they work in those communities.
Common Council President Willie Hines Jr. and Ald. Terry Witkowski told reporters that police who lived in the suburbs would be viewed as “an occupying force” by some city residents, while Ald. Michael Murphy blasted the bill as “just a huge power grab by suburban legislators.”
Angela Johnson, a Milwaukee resident expressed her opinion in a recent phone call to The Courier. “I wish people would stop falling for this game that the governor is playing. It’s as if, he has a personal assault aimed at Milwaukee. Take away millions of dollars from MPS, make it easier for people to put their children in suburban schools, now change the law that will strip stablizing professionals from living in the city. Milwaukee teachers, fire fighters and policemen all know what the criteria of the job is and has been for years. In addition to taking away a tax base for Milwaukee, our property values, our neighborhoods in the city are all at risk. It will do to Milwaukee, what desegregation did, “City Flight”. It is human nature for people to go after something that was restricted before. Milwaukee will look like the city of Detroit…people act different, work different and respect an area more, when they have some skin in the game. When it is their neighborhood as well, they look out for it more carefully.”