Republican state lawmakers have passed a bill that would reduce the power and budget of the Milwaukee County Board.
GOP leaders say it could be headed to the governor’s desk in as soon as a week.
The plan would hand powers currently held by the Milwaukee County Board exclusively to the Milwaukee County Executive, currently Chris Abele. That includes the power to approve contracts, run departments and manage employees. It would also cut into the budget of the 18-member county board.
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The bill’s sponsor is Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis), who served on the county board before he won his spot in the legislature.
“We’ve had more debate about whether there’s a need for reform in Milwaukee County government than I was able to get done in four years on the county board.”
Republicans were poised to pass this bill a couple weeks ago, but it was delayed by Democrats. In the interim, the county board itself passed a measure that would cut its own budget, but Sanfelippo said the Board couldn’t be trusted to carry it out.
Democrats like Rep. Janet Bewley (D-Ashland) called it an abuse of power and warned lawmakers that their counties could be next.
“When I see the overuse of power Milwaukee County, I fear for my own counties, my own cities, my own villages, my own towns and each and every person in this room should do so as well.”
The bill also passed a state senate committee today. Governor Scott Walker, a former Milwaukee County executive, says he supports it.
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