Mayor Tom Barrett received a huge boost this week in his effort to wrest control of federal job training funds from the Private Industry Council and put them under the auspices of City Hall. Gov. Jim Doyle said he would support a change that would give the city $14 million in federal funds to run job-training programs instead of the quasi-public PIC beginning July 1.

While some are suggesting that this has something to do with party politics -- PIC is controlled by appointees of Republican Milwaukee County Exec Scott Walker and headed by noted Republican Gerard Randall, while Barrett is a Democrat -- it could also be argued that PIC is simply ineffective because it has no oversight. Recent activities at PIC could suggest that the mayor and the state are on the right track, but there's going to be quite a bit of work to do when they take over. According to a PIC insider:

• The agency has no money left for the last quarter of its fiscal year for job training, meaning certain programs will be stagnant from April to June with possible staff lay-offs. That, of course, should lead to questions as to where the money went and the societal impact of not being able to train people who need and want jobs.
• As of March 5, all job training of any kind was cut off.
• Free bus tickets–desperately needed by job seekers to get to either training or their job–are no longer being issued, leaving willing workers stranded.
• Orientation continues, but job search training -- to help people apply and obtain jobs -- has been cut off.

There is no County Board involvement or oversight as to how the $14 million in public money is spent and although there is a board of directors made up of a corporate Milwaukee roll call, getting a quorum at meetings appears to be a 50-50 proposition over the past two years, according to the PIC web site, which hasn't posted board minutes since September. PIC also has yet to post its Workforce Investment Act plan–required by law to receive its funds. And it has yet to post a newsletter to let the public know what's going on. With $14 million in play, PIC could at least have a jobs program teaching people Web site development, or perhaps, there really is nothing to post.

Barrett used a state grant to hire Donald Sykes -- former head of the city's Social Development Commission (a similar operation to PIC, but run through the city) and a former administrator with the federal Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration -- to oversee his job-training program. Sykes' credentials are well known and respected. Barrett brought him on to run what will be called the Office of Workforce Development. A $500,000 grant from the Helen Bader Foundation jump-started the program Barrett argues that 22 out of the top 25 cities in the country oversee the local federally funded jobs programs and promises that it will still have a countywide focus.

Randall, who makes $154,000 a year, has vowed to fight any switch in funding. He and the PIC board met this week and voted to encourage Walker to talk to Barrett about saving the agency.

In a rather bold move, the board discussed its options in a "closed" meeting, using the lame excuse that personnel decisions were being mulled over since all the staff jobs were on the line. Open records law clearly states that public boards can only close meetings for personnel decisions when an individual person is being discussed. We should expect a harsh reprimand for such closed-door behavior.

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom: Milwaukee Ald. Joe Davis and several of his colleagues want to bring us all some relief from the window shaking bass that the boom cars will bring to the city en masse this summer. Trouble is, the first attempt put the onus for loud music on stereo peddlers and not those in charge of the volume.

The Davis plan would require stereo installers to be licensed by the city and be responsible to give permits to the stereo owner. If a particular car is stopped for loud music twice in a year, the stereo would be seized and the permit revoked. Stereo installers said it was simply unfair to single them out.

"What's to stop the city from holding automakers liable for drivers who use automobiles to exceed the speed limit?" wrote Rick Mathies, executive director of the Mobile Enhancement Retailers Association.

Members of the city's License Committee commended Davis for trying to address the issue, but tabled the matter indefinitely. After all, there are noise ordinances already on the books, they noted.

"If people were responsible, I wouldn't have this before you," Davis said.

Still Searching for Museum Money: What's new at the Milwaukee Public Museum? It's pretty much business as usual -- mounting deficits. Museum officials reported to the County Board last month that the museum operated with a $248,000 deficit in the last quarter from September through December 2006. While it compares to a $400,000 deficit at the same time last year, it appears the museum still isn't ready to start treading water. The museum also has yet to start a capital fund-raising campaign for 2007.

Officials attribute the losses to a lack of school groups, the Marquette interchange reconstruction (sound familiar?) and the opening of another "cultural institution." Could they be referring to Michael Cudahy's ballyhooed opening of his Pier Wisconsin building featuring the Discovery World Museum?

The museum is hobbled, however, since it continues to look for someone to fill the all-important job of director of corporate communications, which is the person the goes begging for money to corporate Milwaukee. That job opening has been advertised for over a month now. Perhaps there are some folks leery about signing on with a sinking ship.
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