Citizens group backs Walker budget

A citizens group that lays claim to lighting the fire that resulted in the recalls of seven Milwaukee County supervisors launched a new effort Monday to pressure the County Board to accept a zero-tax-increase budget for 2010. Citizens...

Citizens for Responsible Government began airing ads on local talk radio stations to drum up support for County Executive Scott Walker's 2010 budget. Through its Web site, CRG also is urging people to contact their local county supervisors to tell them to back a budget that freezes property taxes at this year's $257 million level.

The 2010 tax and spend plan Walker introduced last week relies heavily on $41 million in cuts to employee salaries and benefits to help balance the budget without resorting to a property tax increase.

The county's largest union agreed to a two-year wage freeze through 2010 in exchange for a no-layoff guarantee, but Walker threatened to veto the measure and supervisors delayed acting on the labor contract last week. The County Board begins its formal review of the budget next week.

Chris Kliesmet, a spokesman for the citizens group, said it decided to spend "a few thousand dollars" on the ads in anticipation that the board would resist Walker on the pay and benefit cuts. Walker asked for a 3% across-the-board pay cut, higher employee health insurance costs, the equivalent of 12 unpaid furlough days and a new employee pension contribution equal to 5% of a worker's salary.

"We've taken our eye off the target in Milwaukee County," Kliesmet said, referring to the group's recent effort to hold a recall election on Gov. Jim Doyle and involvement in local issues elsewhere. "It's time to get back to home and pay more attention to the Milwaukee County Board."

The group halted its Doyle recall effort when the governor said he wouldn't seek re-election.

The radio ad asks listeners if they're fed up about the bad economy and urges them to "stand up for County Executive Scott Walker's common-sense budget." It also singles out County Board Chairman Lee Holloway as an obstacle to getting Walker's budget passed.

Holloway couldn't be reached for comment late Monday.

Kliesmet said the group was nonpartisan and had attacked some Republicans as well as Democrats over the years. But the group has long supported Walker, and Kliesmet said he hoped Walker would be elected governor next year. Walker is an announced Republican gubernatorial candidate.

The group is also sponsoring a county budget rally at 2 p.m. Oct. 4 at Serb Hall, 5101 W. Oklahoma Ave. Walker has agreed to speak at the rally.

Three supervisors said Monday that they had received only a few calls linked to the radio ads.

Supervisor Theo Lipscomb said Walker's budget proposal was based on "voodoo math" because it counted on savings that would have to be negotiated with county unions. Lipscomb said he couldn't make any commitment to any group on the county budget because he was still studying it.

Supervisor Lynne DeBruin criticized Walker's budget as "not a real budget. It looks good on paper" but is based on employee concessions that have not been negotiated and were almost certain to be rejected by unions.

The citizens group was launched in the midst of the county pension scandal in 2002 and spearheaded recall campaigns that led to the pressured resignation of then County Executive F. Thomas Ament and ouster of seven supervisors who voted for pension enhancements in 2001.