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Contents    

Build Milwaukee ....................................................................................................................................................... 3  

Economic Development and Job Creation Initiative Zones ............................................................................... 3  

Prudent Fiscal Management of City Revenues ..................................................................................................... 6  

Strong Civil, Human, and Equal Rights Enforcement......................................................................................... 8  

Total Transparency of City Affairs ....................................................................................................................... 10  

Sustainable Natural Resources Management ..................................................................................................... 13  

Expanded Community Based Policing and Fire Services .................................................................................. 15  

Expanded Community and Cultural Arts ............................................................................................................ 16  

Multimodal Public Transportation ...................................................................................................................... 17  

Growth of Local Food Production and Purchasing ............................................................................................ 18  

Enhanced Youth and Elderly Services ................................................................................................................. 19  

Collaboration with Suburban and Regional Communities ............................................................................... 20  

Appendix A .............................................................................................................................................................. 22  

 

 

 

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Build Milwaukee Economic Development and Job Creation Initiative Zones

Summary http://milwaukee.uwex.edu/cnred/build-milwaukee/  

 Issues

Job openings surveys conducted by the Employment and Training Institute for the Regional Workforce Alliance and the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board have shown devastating effects of the economic recession on the entire Milwaukee region. The 2010 survey collected information from a stratified sample of 3,867 employers who reported on their current job openings as of May 25, 2010, including information on each job’s requirements and worksite location. Results were weighted by establishment size and industry to estimate openings for the 7-county area. The combination of workers laid off from their jobs along with fewer companies hiring fewer workers has led to an unprecedented job gap in the Milwaukee area between people seeking work and jobs available. The spatial mismatch between limited jobs available and large numbers of adults seeking work is most severe in inner city Milwaukee. The May 2011 employer survey found 25 job seekers for every 1 fulltime opening available in the nine zip codes of inner city Milwaukee, or an estimated 21,288 job seekers and only about 838 available full-time jobs. In Milwaukee County as a whole, there were an estimated 49,473 job seekers and only 3,818 full-time openings, according to the May 2011 survey. That is a 13 to 1 job gap. Even before the economic recession central city residents faced severe job shortages. In May 2006, the Employment and Training Institute job vacancies survey found a job gap of 7 to 1 in inner city neighborhoods. Build Milwaukee promotes civic engagement activities and leverages human and financial resources to improve the socioeconomic development of all neighborhoods through the implementation of outcome based development plans in the City of Milwaukee. The Build Milwaukee is more than creating jobs it is an economic development initiative that build careers.

Strategy

My administration will work with the city council, state and county governments to establish Build Milwaukee Initiative Zones to spur economic development and job creation. Build Milwaukee Initiative Zones (BMIZ) will establish 4 - Phase 1 targeted plan and implementation areas in the City of Milwaukee to create a collaborative state, county, city, and financial institutions targeted economic development and job creation initiative through the implementation of the City of Milwaukee’s redevelopment plan for the BMIZ. The BMIZ target areas will be as follows:

Area #1 – Combines the Near West Area, Washington Park, 30th Street Corridor, Fond-du Lac/North, North East, and Northeast Redevelopment Plan Areas Area #2 – Northwest Redevelopment Plan Area Area #3 – Near South Redevelopment Plan Area Area #4 - South East Redevelopment Plan Area

 

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See the following website for the aforementioned redevelopment plan- http://www.mkedcd.org/planning/plans/Area/maps/AreaMap.html for each BMIZ area.

City of Milwaukee Role

1. The City of Milwaukee shall establish a Mayor and City Council appointed community

councils to oversee implementation of the BMIZ Redevelopment Plan activities in each of the BMIZ. The mayor and council will define the composition and duties, but shall include state and county government, and financial institutions representatives, and provide for adequate staff and resources to support the community council’s work.

2. The City of Milwaukee and the community councils will establish the Redevelopment Plans and Job Creation goals for each BMIZ.

3. The City of Milwaukee and the community councils will establish a BMIZ Economic Development and Jobs Benefit Strategy that requires compliance with the following rules when funds and instruments dedicated to the BMIZ are used:

• Jobs will go to BMIZ area veterans, residents who are participants in the Milwaukee

Workforce Training Centers, and those who are qualified,

• All development projects will be joint-ventured with a qualified development entity based in the BMIZ,

• To the greatest extent possible, all development projects will use construction contractors (sub and primes) located in the BMIZ,

• To the greatest extent possible, purchases for development/construction projects will be made from businesses located in the BMIZ,

• All projects will train and hire residents for jobs created from projects (infrastructure, commercial, and industrial) in the BMIZ,

• To the greatest extent possible, new and redeveloped commercial and industrial space will be made available to entrepreneurs from the BMIZ,

• To the greatest extent possible, all housing types will be made available to residents in the BMIZ, and

• All projects in the BMIZ must include green development principles

4. The City of Milwaukee will establish a Socially Responsible Investment Fund (SRIF) that provides deposits and other financial services opportunity to financial institutions that agrees to useable target lending and other financial services in the BMIZ activities.

5. The City of Milwaukee will dedicate 40% of its redevelopment apparatuses and procurement contracts for use in the BMIZ.

6. The City of Milwaukee will use a portion of the dedicated 40% redevelopment apparatuses

and procurement contracts to expand the capacity of select BMIZ Community Development

 

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Corporations chosen by the community councils to participate in activities and establish Wealth Building Services that includes the following:

• Comprehensive Housing Counseling and Assistance • Business Development and Retention • Education Placement • Financial Management and Investment

Milwaukee County Role

1. Milwaukee County will establish a Socially Responsible Investment Fund (SRIF) that

provides deposits and other financial services opportunity to financial institutions that agrees to useable target lending and other financial services in the BMIZ activities.

2. Milwaukee County will dedicate 20% of its redevelopment apparatuses and procurement contracts for use in BMIZ a portion of which will be used to expand the capacity of select Community Development Corporations chosen by the community councils to establish Wealth Building Services.

3. Milwaukee County will establish provisions for use of SRIF, redevelopment apparatuses and procurement contracts that ensures compliance with the BMIZ Benefit Strategy.

State of Wisconsin Role

1. The State of Wisconsin will establish a Socially Responsible Investment Fund (SRIF) that

provides deposits and other financial services opportunity to financial institutions that agrees to useable target lending and other financial services in the BMIZ activities.

2. The State of Wisconsin will dedicate 10% of its redevelopment apparatuses and procurement contracts for use in BMIZ a portion of which will be used to expand the capacity of select Community Development Corporations chosen by the community councils in the BMIZ to establish Wealth Building Services.

3. The State of Wisconsin will establish provision for use of SRIF, redevelopment apparatuses and procurement contracts that ensures compliance with BMIZ Benefit Strategy.

This Community Driven Economic Development approach will achieve the development of robust manufacturing and commercial corridors, clean and safe affordable housing, and sustained infrastructure development and management. It requires the collaboration of state, county and city government. It requires each branch to pre - designate use of procurement and redevelopment apparatuses at a certain percentage for use in the target area. Also use the leverage of tax revenues to influence lending in the target areas. Most importantly, it develops a strategic outcome based approach that is community driven to meet the priority needs of the target areas as it relates to job creation, housing, commercial, infrastructure, and manufacturing development. It also places a priority of the development of Milwaukee proper. See specific legislation in Appendix A  

_______________

 

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Prudent Fiscal Management of City Revenues Issues

The longstanding revenue and expense structural issues continue to impact Milwaukee’s government operations. Things are at the point that Milwaukee has exhausted the capacity of its existing revenue streams to support its expenditure needs.

This issue has come about because of poor fiscal management and an administration that spent little time monitoring and engaging with the political and economic realities at the local, county, region, state and federal level. Thereby not factoring in the realities of stagnant state revenues, skyrocketing health care costs, declining property values, debt services, and looming future pension payments and during the budgeting process increased fees on property owners for services that are already paid for through property taxes and eliminating the elasticity in fee revenues for services that have historically not been considered covered by property taxes and can be a revenue source for the city.

Strategy

• My administration will work with the city council, labor and community stakeholders to make budgetary decisions with four underlying strategies:

Keep the existing workforce intact and expanding where possible and when affordable,

The frontline workforce will be partners in all administrative and service delivery decisions,

There will be no increases in fees for services traditionally covered by property taxes, Property tax increases will always be a last resort decision, and Ensure a healthy pension system.

• My administration will work with the city council, labor and community stakeholders to

increase revenues through the following steps:

Continue to advocate with state representatives and senators from the city of Milwaukee for greater state aid to local government,

Continue to advocate with congressional representatives from the city of Milwaukee to ensure our fair share of federal resources,

Convene a community and cabinet level working group that will bring forth recommendations for the development of non-fee and non-tax revenue sources for the city,

Refocus procurement activities so that it maximizes (80-20) the utilization of Milwaukee based businesses,

Work with city employees to explore all the options that produce improved health care and reduced health care costs, and

Work with city frontline employees to explore all the options that produce cost savings and efficiencies with the delivery of services, and

 

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Work with branches of government and the private sector to deploy a comprehensive economic development strategy called Build Milwaukee.

Worker/ Management Administration of City Services

Issues

The enactment of Act 10 will require the City of Milwaukee to establish management/workers shared leadership teams. In my administration we will use a “Shared Leadership” approach, which puts the main line workers at the center of every decision, to guide efforts to improve service and eliminate waste that drives up costs. This approach will build work place coalitions to maximum efficiency in service delivery. It will ensure workers and management plays a joint role in the development of departmental service delivery outcomes and team ownership with achieving those outcomes. I believe the shared leadership approach counteracts the negative morale impact of Wisconsin Act 10 and improves the workplace environment for our great city employees and brings city service delivery progressively into the 21st century and will carry us into the 22nd century versus the Act 10 approach that is regressive and a morale killer for public employees.

Strategy

My administration’s partnership approach will bring frontline managers and workers together to make full use of each individual’s expertise. These different perspectives help to bring about solutions that address systemic issues – safety to compensation to efficient service delivery. Frontline employees, who do the job every day, are able to offer innovative solutions to the problems at hand. Union leaders and representatives will evolve into work-unit leaders. Managers will move away from directing work into coaching and mentoring roles. The community is then supported by all staff in providing high-quality community-centered services. For our city the entire service delivery system improves and the efficiencies and cost saving benefits our city. ____________

 

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Strong Civil, Human, and Equal Rights Enforcement  Issues

The City of Milwaukee for a six year period (2004 -2009) did not honor its ordinance to establish an equal rights commission. This action sent the message to our community that equal rights would not be valued in the City of Milwaukee.

This single disturbing lack of action to take serious the enforcement of equal rights in a city that places too big of a premium on race constructs has been the single major contributor to the gross disparities that plague our great city. It has been the greatest contributor to a city system that operates on preference versus a system that operates on absolute inclusion of all residents regardless of how they are socially constructed.

This one act has been the biggest contributor to the growing wealth divide in our community. What is a community without equal rights? It is what we have, unfortunately, in Milwaukee today – high poverty, infant mortality, segregation, poor housing, unprecedented sustained unemployment for segments of the community, and a tax burden for those that have to support segments of the community on the wrong end of the disparities. To continue on this path is tantamount to a sophisticated form of genocide with no one escaping.

The city reestablished its equal rights commission in 2003 but only after the community through a ballot initiative led by 9 to5 demanded it honor the city’s ordinance. However, the mayor and council stripped the equal rights commission of any actual enforcement authority.

As a city we must advocate against prejudice and transition our communities from the promotion of tolerance to cultivating a community that practice Allophillia. The values espoused by Allophillia are deeply rooted in Milwaukee’s history. It was first demonstrated by the Potawatomi by sharing the land with the Sauk, Ojibwa, Ho Chuck, Menomonee and other tribes, and those tribes embracing the arrival of Solomon Juneau who paved the way for other ethnic and cultural groups. Allophillia may have been demonstrated best in this community when Sherman Booth and others citizens of Milwaukee refused to return Joshua Glover to slavery.

In this community, the human stories are singular but our destiny is shared - we rise or fall as one city; as one people, and the power of human unity must prevail.

Strategy

My administration will work with the city council, labor and community stakeholders to immediately create a city advisory commission on equal rights. The commission’s role will be to audit the city procurement system and other areas for compliance with the administrative application of civil rights and equal opportunity laws. They will use that report to fashion reform in our civil, human and equal rights protections. The commission will receive reports on all matters concerning the equal rights of all persons within the city and, after due deliberations and open hearings, advise the appropriate department or division of city government of the proper procedures for preserving the equal rights of persons as guaranteed by the law. To these ends, it will also advise the mayor and city council of pending or prospective legislation or executive orders. It will also advise city administrators and will act as a liaison to

 

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organizations and corporations concerning proper application of civil and equal rights policies, additionally, the commission will have the following functions: 1. Organize an annual “Is Race Real?” conference to discuss the issue of race and teach about

the state of human and civil rights enforcement in our country, state, and city.

2. Improve understanding among religious, cultural, national, ethnic and racial groups within this community.

3. Clarify the responsibilities which all citizens have in a modern, urban environment. 4. Foster and promote, through all media, educational, civic, cultural, fraternal and social

groups, a sense of pride, understanding and brotherhood; further the appreciation of the rich heritage which is made possible by the diverse traditions, talents and backgrounds of the city's citizenry.

5. Acquaint citizens with their legal rights, with government and private programs, and with the

resources available to meet the needs of the elderly, youth, differently-abled and disadvantaged.

6. Develop and maintain a balance sheet of human resources with this city and to recommend courses of action to preserve and improve these resources.

7. Acquaint the citizens of this city with their property, insurance, financial and employment

rights. 8. Consider and recommend legislation and administrative regulations for consumer protection

and for the maintenance of quality controls on consumer goods and services, and publish reports on the state of race relations in greater Milwaukee.

________

 

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Total Transparency of City Affairs  Issues

My administration will operate with the understanding that a free society is maintained when government is responsive and responsible to the public, and when the public is aware of governmental actions. We will practice a policy that reflect a value that the more open government is with public, the greater the understanding and participation of the public in government. The people's right to know the process of governmental decision-making and to review the documents and statistics leading to determinations is basic to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality. My administration will work with the city council, labor and community stakeholders to declare that government is the public's business and that the public, individually and collectively and represented by a free press, should have access to the records of government in accordance with the following best practices as identified by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council – October 2009 1. High costs. The Open Records Law states that custodians may charge only the “actual,

necessary and direct cost” of reproducing records, and sometimes (when more than $50) the cost of locating records. Best practice: Records custodians who charge between 10 and 25 cents per page or who waive the fee altogether, as the law allows at WI. 19.35(3) (e). As for other costs, custodians should remember the law’s admonition that providing access to records “is declared to be an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties of officers and employees.”

2. E-mail records. The Open Records Law specifically includes “electromagnetic information”

among its definition of record, and court rulings have affirmed that e-mail and other electronic records must be released on request. Best practice: E-mails and other electronic records should be maintained as long as practically possible, and each public body ought to strive for efficient systems for storage and recovery. Officials should be reminded that e-mails, including government-related communications on their home computers or personal email accounts, are public records.

3. Delays. The Open Records Law states that requested records must be provided “as soon as

practicable and without delay.” It adds that providing access to information “is declared to be … an integral part of the routine duties of [public] officers and employees.” Best practice: Custodians should promptly provide access to requested records. The state Attorney General suggests that requests should be answered within ten working days. But many requests can be answered much more promptly than that.

4. Police and prosecution records. In a 1991 decision, Foust v. Richards, the Wisconsin

Supreme Court declared that prosecutors’ files are exempt from the Open Records Law, a

 

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blow to openness and accountability. But a 2008 appellate court ruling, Portage Daily Register v. Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, affirmed that other law enforcement agencies must still apply a separate balancing test. At times, the balance still weighs too readily against the release of information. Best practice: Police and prosecutors should restrict access only to records that compromise their ability to prosecute a case or the defendant’s right to a fair outcome. And all records should be presumed public, subject to the balancing test, at the conclusion of a case.

5. Draft status. The Open Records Law contains an exemption for drafts, which it defines as

records “prepared for the originator's personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person for whom the originator is working.” Best practice: Once a document is shown to anyone besides the originator or a person working on his or her behalf, it is no longer a draft. Records custodians should also release early versions of documents, to show how they were changed as the result of review, reconsideration or outside pressure.

6. Quasi-governmental entities. Some publicly anointed and funded agencies consider

themselves exempt from the state’s Open Records and Open Meetings Laws. But a 2008 state Supreme Court decision, State of Wisconsin v. Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation, concluded that publicly funded entities are subject to openness laws. Best practices: Entities who think they are private should review the Beaver Dam decision and closely consider their status. Generally, if an entity is established or largely funded by government, it is probably subject to the state’s openness laws.

7. Closed meetings. State law says public bodies must meet in the open except in certain

narrowly proscribed situations, like to discuss certain personnel matters or ongoing negotiations in a competitive process. Best practices: Meetings of public bodies should almost always be open to the public. Exemptions to this rule should be construed as narrowly as possible.

8. Vague agenda items. In 2003, the then-state Attorney General held that a vote taken by the UW Board of Regents on a vaguely noticed agenda item was illegal. And a 2007 Supreme Court decision, Buswell v. Tomah, held that notices must contain reasonably detailed information about the subjects up for discussion. Best practices: Public bodies should specifically reference all items of business they intend to take up, so that citizens with an interest in these areas can attend.

9. Attorney-client privilege. Public officials frequently claim they have the right to close

meetings or deny access simply because their attorneys are involved. This has the clear potential for abuse. Best practice: The exemption for attorney-client privilege should be construed as narrowly as possible, applied only when access would compromise a public body’s entitlement to receive sensitive legal advice.

 

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10. Medical privacy. The Council agrees that individuals have the right to privacy regarding

their medical records and personal health histories. Best practices: Records custodians subject to HIPAA should not prevent the release of information about matters of public health, so long as individuals are not specifically identified.

11. Privacy protections. Privacy claims are sometimes used to justify withholding records of public interest. Court records in particular often contain sensitive information, yet their availability is usually justified by the serious civil or criminal matters being litigated. Best practices: Legitimately private information should not be used as a justification for withholding an entire document when the privacy-related information can simply be redacted.

12. Claims of abuse: An increasingly common argument is that because some people misuse

public information, it should not be available. This is especially true in battles over Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the state’s online court records system. Claims that information on this site is misinterpreted and used illegally are propelling legislative efforts to curtail what records are available, and who can see them. Best practices: If there is evidence that people are using public records to illegally discriminate against others in employment, then prosecutions against that illegal discrimination should ensue, not crackdowns of the ability to obtain public information.

____________    

 

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Sustainable Natural Resources Management  Issues

My administration will work in collaboration with the city council, business, government, labor, and grassroots communities to create and implement programs that increase quality jobs and opportunities through a clean energy economy with green industry – all while holding the most vulnerable people at the center of our agenda. Environmental technology is one of the fastest growing job sectors and Milwaukee should expand the number of ‘green collar’ jobs here. The jobs could cover the full spectrum of possibilities. Milwaukee County is home to several leading companies in energy technologies. There’s Johnson Controls, Rockwell International, Eaton Corporation and Magnatek, to name a few. We must support these companies by developing ways to use the technologies they produce in applications of our local redevelopment activities.

Strategy

My administration will work with the city council, labor and community stakeholders to move Milwaukee toward becoming an eco-municipality with engaging them in ecological and social justice values and the eventual adoption of ecological and social justice values in Milwaukee’s charter. The purpose of these policies is to increase the overall sustainability of the community.

The distinction between an eco-municipality and other sustainable development projects (such as green building and alternative energy) is the focus on community involvement and social transformation in a public agency as well as the use of a holistic sustainability systems approach. An eco-municipality is one that recognizes that issues of sustainability will be central to all decisions made by government. In becoming an eco-municipality, we will adopt a resolution, based on the Natural Step framework, which sets the following objectives:

• Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels. • Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals. • Reduce encroachment upon nature. • Better meet human needs fairly and efficiently. As of November 2011, in Wisconsin, thirty local communities had formally adopted eco-municipality resolutions. The resolutions state the community's intention to become an eco-municipality, endorsing the Natural Step sustainability principles and framework as a guide. It is only natural the biggest and most populated city in the state follows suit. _________

 

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Superior Education Outcomes  Issues

The Milwaukee community in partnership with our schools must always work to inspire our students. Education is the key to transforming people’s lives and the communities in which they live. Post-secondary education is the essential route to personal fulfillment and prosperity. We must promote high student aspirations and strong teacher expectations lead to better educational achievement. Academic achievement is enhanced when community stakeholders and educators unify to make post-secondary education the goal for its students. Student aspirations and academic achievement rise when parents, educators and the community make post-secondary education a goal for students. Every child should have an opportunity for post-secondary study. Increased levels of post-secondary education lead to increased economic stability, dynamic business communities and job creation. Increased levels of post-secondary education lead to community vitality, engaged citizens and a rich cultural environment. Our children, teachers, parents, and the community in general have had enough of the negative generalization about the performance of our school system. The negative propaganda is putting every student at a competitive disadvantage and damaging the morale of those that have made the commitment to manage our schools and teach our children. We need to begin promoting the positive and work strategically to resolve our challenges in schools.

Strategy My administration will work with the city council, labor and community stakeholders to evolve the Milwaukee Promise, Inc. The Promise mission is to fund post-secondary education for graduates of public schools in the City of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Promise is a guarantee to provide free or reduced tuition to any University of Wisconsin system university, college, or publicly funded technical college for Milwaukee Public School (MPS) high school students. Eligibility for tuition reduction (65% - 100%) is determined by how many years a student attends MPS. My administration will work with the city council, labor, community stakeholders and Milwaukee School Board, and Superintendent to:

Expand guidance counseling in all our schools to the national ratio of student to counselor.

School nurse and social work programs to the national ratio of student to nurse and

social worker.

Expand service learning opportunities for upper grade level students.

Establish a youth vote initiative to expand civic engagement learning.

Establish a student “Bill of Rights”. _________  

 

 

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Expanded Community Based Policing and Fire Services  Issues

Two of the core components of community policing are: Community Partnerships and Problem Solving. Community Partnerships are joint efforts between law enforcement agencies and their communities to address the significant crime and quality of life issues. Problem Solving is a process for analyzing a problem from several perspectives in order to seek the most thoughtful approach possible, which should also be the solution that is most likely to succeed.

The Milwaukee Police and Fire Departments Community Services Divisions are the best in the country. They are dedicated to community based proactive prevention services that are inclusive of all communities. The division’s efforts in this regard may be the major reason that Milwaukee is a relatively safe community even though it is faced with major socioeconomic challenges. Our fire and police consume a major portion of the city’s operating budget because our community demands safety. This demand is high because our city has not implemented a coherent economic development strategy or provided leadership in our County or Region to build an economy that will take a bigger bite out of crime.

Strategy

My administration will work with the Fire and Police Commission, Fire and Police Departments, Union, and Community Stakeholders to find resources to expand community based Fire and Police services.

My administration will also ensure no reduction in our Fire and Police personnel and state of the arts equipment to carry out their services.

My administration will work with the City Council, Health Department, Fire and Police Commission, Fire and Police Departments, Union, and Community Stakeholders to review and update our emergency management plans to ensure we have the most effective disaster preparedness plan to minimize the impact of disaster and help us to be effective utilizing resources.

My administration will work with the City Council, Fire and Police Commission, Fire and Police Departments, Union to review and develop a strategic, long-range blueprint for fire and protection that addresses local needs and circumstances, based upon costs the community can afford. _________  

 

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Expanded Community and Cultural Arts  

Issues

The Milwaukee region has a wide and varied group of cultural assets. These assets represent the heritage of its diverse communities and contribute an economic impact of over $250 million in our region, stimulating $33 million in state and local taxes, while engaging more than 3,000 employees and 9,000 volunteers. And, they contribute educationally, with UPAF members alone serving over 400,000 children each year. These 250 known arts and culture organizations reach over 4.5 million people yearly. The majority of the arts and culture communities are located in the City of Milwaukee. Much work is needed to continue building cultural arts and stabilizing them. The region and Milwaukee needs further development of cultural arts in communities of color. Cultural arts are one of the single greatest contributors to building cultural relations in a community.

Strategy

My administration will work with the City Council, the Milwaukee Arts Board to increase the amount of grants for art projects in Milwaukee. My administration will work with the City Council, Milwaukee Arts Board, Cultural Arts Alliance of Greater Milwaukee, local community and private foundations and others to further assess the state of community and cultural arts in Milwaukee with the goal of developing a long term plan to expand permanent funding support to ensure retention and development of the arts in Milwaukee. _____________

 

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Multimodal Public Transportation  Issues

Past regional planning efforts have well-documented the need for public transit preservation, improvement, and expansion and the funding problems now faced by the transit systems operating throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. We need to provide leadership with moving a countywide and regional transit system to implementation. Milwaukee needs to implement its plan for providing all residents and businesses with a multi-modal transportation system that strengthens the local economy and reduces environmental impacts.

Strategy

My administration will work with the city council and community stakeholders within Milwaukee and with suburban and regional communities to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to connect all communities by multiple transportation modals. My administration will work with the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Council, suburban and regional communities, and congressional and state legislators from the region to seek funding from state and federal sources to address stabilizing and expanding multimodal transportation in Milwaukee and the surrounding communities. My administration will not support the downtown trolley in its present form. The priority must be to stabilize our existing public transportation system. Looking to the future, I would support planning and implantation of a rail line that stretch from the General Mitchell Fields to the Northridge Mall Area -using strategic commercial corridor routes in between. However, the develop planning would need to include a job placement strategy for local residents and vendors, and the environment impact statement would need to protect existing businesses along any commercial corridor impacted from lost revenues. Additionally, most of the cost would need to originate from the state and federal governments. _______________

 

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Growth of Local Food Production and Purchasing  Issues

The places where we live, learn, work, and play have a strong influence on our ability to maintain a healthy diet and engage in regular physical activity, which are two of the most essential components of good health. Milwaukee area food and health and wellness groups are building movements to ensure good health for all our residents. In Milwaukee the number of farmers’ markets has drastically increased. The number of Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) has also grown, and there are restaurants that pride themselves on the fact that they source their ingredients from local farmers. Farm-to-school programs are being considered and groups of people are organizing “buy local campaigns.” There are cooperative natural food stores thriving and nearly forty farmer’s markets active in the Milwaukee area. Milwaukee also has nearly a hundred acres of land supporting community gardens, and greenhouses, hydroponic and aquaculture facilities. All of these acts are covered by the collective tent of Milwaukee local food and health and wellness and buy local movement. However, the City of Milwaukee Health Department has never conducted a formal food system assessment to determine the system’s impact on the health and wellness of youth and families in Milwaukee. Many policy makers and leaders dismiss the value of such an assessment as a part of the various types of planning done to guide the work of the city and argue cost out weights the possible benefit. Therefore, city operations and development plans are absent of any food system assessments or proactive strategies that ensure food systems are not negatively impacting the health and wellness of the community.  

Strategy  

 My administration will work with the city council to support and provide the technical assistance necessary to help community based entities develop a unique Milwaukee Food Shed Initiative. The food shed will make our urban food system more nutritious, sustainable, and accessible for all in the greater Milwaukee area. The overall objective of my administration’s support is to assist community based entities to develop and implement a locally controlled and community driven food shed to enhance local involvement with everything between where a food is produced and where a food is consumed. _____________

 

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Enhanced Youth and Elderly Services  Infant Care

Public health experts have long considered the infant mortality rate to be an essential indicator of a community's well-being. "It's like the canary in the mineshaft," said Geoffrey Swain, who is medical director of the Milwaukee Health Department and a scientist at the Center for Urban Population Health. "The factors that drive the leading causes of infant mortality also drive the leading causes of death, illness and disability for all of us." In Milwaukee, babies die during their first year of life at a rate greater than all but six of the nation's 53 largest cities. In Milwaukee, babies die at rates associated with the Third World. In Milwaukee, the infant mortality rate for all children, regardless of race, exceeds that of Uruguay, Bosnia or Kuwait.

My administration will be involved with the Milwaukee based Lifecourse approach, which has increasingly been advocated by researchers and health officials across the country, focuses on breaking the cycle of infant mortality by attacking poverty, racism and segregation, health care, chronic diseases, stress, low birth weight and a range of behaviors harmful to one’s health. The Lifecourse initiatives set out to bring to the table everyone with a stake in reducing infant deaths - health care providers, nonprofit groups, faith-based groups, government agencies, community activists and business leaders. The City of Milwaukee and its health department will be at the table to establish and implement the collective goals established by the collaborative members involved with the Lifecourse Initiative.

Childcare

Youth Programs

Elderly Care

Milwaukee Public Library

Throughout the year, the Milwaukee Public Library offers a series of free two-hour classes covering the basics of computers, including computer basics, word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, email, and internet searching are offered at every library. These classes provide instruction to those citizens who finished formal schooling before computers were widely available, and to those for whom computers are too expensive and who have subsequently had no experience using them. The Milwaukee Elder Safe Program reach out to the elderly to apprises them of the services offered by the Milwaukee Fire department and other agencies and the City of Milwaukee Community Development Agency provide block grant funding to strategic organization to assist elders with maintenance assistance on their homes.

__________________

 

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Collaboration with Suburban and Regional Communities  Issues

Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and 39th most populous region in the United States. According to 2010 census data, the City of Milwaukee has a population of 594,833. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Metropolitan Area with a population of 1,751,316 as of 2010. Milwaukee is also the regional center of the seven counties -Greater Milwaukee Area - with an estimated population of 2,014,032 as of 2008. Milwaukee must be the regional and county leader with developing socioeconomic development strategies that improve the quality of life for all residents in the region and county.

Strategy

My administration will be an active participant in the Milwaukee County Intergovernmental Cooperative Council, Water Council, Milwaukee 7, The Sustainable Edible Economic Development, the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Council and other regional and countywide groups. My administration will engage the University of Wisconsin System to partner in county and regional efforts to develop a comprehensive regional sustainability plan. Regional and County Sustainability Challenges

We need to develop and implement a uniform vision for a more sustainable County/Region, it will be important to explore and address in depth the issues and impediments to sustainable development that face the county and region. Many of these challenges have been identified in previous regional planning efforts, with strategies recommended to address them. However, there is no connection between the recommended strategies and their implementation. Potential issues that may be addressed by Milwaukee’s leadership in collaboration with others are: Transit System Sustainability Past regional planning efforts have well-documented the need for public transit preservation, improvement, and expansion and the funding problems now faced by the transit systems operating throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. We need to provide leadership with moving a countywide and regional transit system to implementation.

Development Infill and Densification Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Council (SEWRPC) regional plans have long called for a greater emphasis on development infill, redevelopment, and the densification of areas already committed to urban development. Some areas have been successful in achieving these goals, including the Menomonee Valley and Third Ward in Milwaukee and others have not. We need to work to identify opportunities for development infill, redevelopment, and densification; to identify impediments to such building activity and to identify strategies to remove such impediments.

Regional Housing Planning

 

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SEWRPC is presently preparing a regional housing plan that is a refinement of the housing element of the regional land use plan, and is coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation system plan. The plan addresses the availability, distribution, and density of housing in the Region, including the relationship between jobs and affordable housing, accessible housing units for persons with disabilities, housing discrimination and fair housing practices, and environmentally responsible development practices. We need to provide leadership with implementation of the plan recommendation

Healthy Food Systems Long-standing regional plan recommendations address the protection of Southeastern Wisconsin’s best quality farmland for agriculture production. We need regional sustainability goals that would foster the creation and maintenance of livable neighborhoods, including accessible grocery stores that offer healthy and economical food choices. We need to provide leadership to build on this existing base and find more ways to emphasize preservation of existing agricultural working lands, development of urban agriculture, community gardens, farm direct marketing, fresh produce outlets, local distribution networks, regional “food sheds,” and sound nutrition education.

Environmental Sustainability Previously completed regional plans have addressed environmental sustainability as it relates to water supply, water quality, flood land management, environmental corridors, and natural areas, and these elements have all been coordinated with the regional land use and transportation plans. We need to provide leadership that develop and implement a green infrastructure strategy for the county and region. Problems and Policies Affecting Freight Movement Freight traffic is a significant portion—about 8 percent—of travel in southeastern Wisconsin, and freight movement is a significant cost of business and industry in southeastern Wisconsin. The economic competitiveness of the county and region is affected by the quality and cost of freight movement. We need to provide leadership to encourage more effective and efficient freight movements from an economic development standpoint, while attempting to reduce impacts on traffic congestion, air pollutant emissions, energy consumption, and other associated sustainability concerns.

These regional challenges are not the only ones faced by Southeastern Wisconsin, and other regional issues could be identified and addressed through collaborations. __________

 

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Appendix A