It's always nice to be able to police yourself. Just ask the Milwaukee Police Department union brass. The union has filed a lawsuit challenging the new process the city uses to hear citizen complaints against cops.

The Fire and Police Commission started the new method in April after the state Supreme Court found flaws in the previous plan, mainly because it allowed police to police themselves.

The commission hired investigators to ask police questions regarding complaints. The union's suit contends that the investigations are being done without informing the officers of the complaint and that investigators are questioning cops without union representatives on hand. It also claims the commission would be biased since its investigator works for it.

Before this method was used the Police Department itself investigated citizen complaints about the department and the commission based its decisions on those investigations. Since 1998 the Fire and Police Commission had conducted only four trials and had imposed no discipline in 491 citizen complaints. The last trial was conducted in 2001.

Tax Tizzy: Apparently, some local officials think that governmental units shouldn't be allowed to run their own houses as they see fit. Case in point: The Milwaukee Public Schools. The School Board's passing of a budget that includes a 14.6% tax increase has drawn some interesting ire -- from the intriguing to the absurd.

Ever the colorful staid South Sider, Milwaukee Ald. Bob Donovan offered his acerbic assessment of the budget. He wants his district to secede from the school district.

"Enough is enough. I have to act in the best interests of my residents and a 14.6% property tax increase for a failing train wreck of a school district is not in their best interests," the alderman said. "I just wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't look into a way to relieve my district of this situation and go to a better option."

He accused the board of pouring gasoline on taxpayers by taxing to the max. "It's simply preposterous," he said, calling out Mayor Tom Barrett and Gov. Jim Doyle for taking a "do-nothing stance," even though they've set up a commission to study the MPS operation -- meddling that normally doesn't happen between independent governmental entities.
Of course, seceding from MPS is impossible. Sorry Bob. But that didn't stop the sound-off.

"There's been more than enough hand-wringing and finger-pointing on MPS problems for years, but the taxpayers are always left holding the bag," he fumed.

Barrett got in on the fight with MPS before the School Board approved its big hike. He sent School Board President Peter Blewett a letter prior to the vote noting the mayor's opinion that tax increases of that magnitude are not a good idea.
The mayor's budget includes a more than 4% tax increase and the raising of several fees.

 Page 1 of 2 (view all on one page)

Next >>

Post a comment / write a review.