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Abele issues two vetoes, including $4 million for Sheriff's office

Posted: Nov 17, 2015 6:34 PM EST
Updated: Nov 17, 2015 6:34 PM EST
By Matt Doyle

Milwaukee -

Chris Abele issued two vetoes for the 2016 budget, one which would eliminate $4 million in funding the Milwaukee County Board allocated for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office. Abele cited some of Clarke's recent comments in a release saying:

Earlier this month, the county executive wrote the County Board to request that they require transparency, accountability, and the use of evidence-based practices with the addition of funds to the Sheriff’s budget. Absent that accountability and a real commitment from the Sheriff to participate in constructive ways to address serious public safety and criminal justice issues in our community, Abele is vetoing the addition of $4,000,000 to the Sheriff’s budget. Instead of partnering with the County Board, the county executive, and others on the Community Justice Council to ensure a fair and effective justice system, the Sheriff has repeatedly used his platform to make extreme and divisive comments, such as referring to people in the Black Lives Matter movement as “sub-human creeps.”

“I am vetoing this amendment because I will not raise property taxes by 1.4% to validate the Sheriff for his repeated incendiary comments and his out of touch view on criminal justice and our society,” Abele said. “If we are going to add resources to the Sheriff’s budget it must be as part of a meaningful discussion on reforming our criminal justice system and reducing racial disparities.”

Sheriff David Clarke responded by telling local radio host Charlie Sykes he plans to file a lawsuit against Abele. He says Abele was weaponizing the budget process against his free speech. CBS 58 asked to speak with Sheriff Clarke about this Tuesday but his office declined our interview request.

Abele told reporters he's giving Clarke the same amount of money as last year. He also says the Sheriff's office has a unique role in Milwaukee County, but not one that includes violent crime.

"We're one of extremely few counties in the country that's totally incorporated," Abele said. "That means, in this county, every inch is patrolled by a police department. The role of the sheriff's department isn't public safety, it's process service, court security, expressway patrol, it's very specifically mandated. When you're talking about violent crime, that's the police department. We have been restoring investments to the courts, the district attorney's office, the victim witness protection program, these are very specific leveraged investments that have a direct impact on public safety."

The County Board could override Abele's veto when it meets Wednesday. Supervisor John Weishan says the county board is committed to public safety and he feels they will override Abele's veto.

http://www.cbs58.com/story/30543004/...heriffs-office

Two hot-button issues, one vote: Milwaukee Co. Board overrides Abele’s vetoes

Posted 5:15 pm, November 18, 2015, by Beverly Taylor, Updated at 05:41pm, November 18, 2015

MILWAUKEE -- Two hot-button issues with lots of money attached to them went before the Milwaukee County Board on Wednesday, November 18th. But in a twist, they were addressed with one single vote.

The full board came to order on Wednesday to tackle County Executive Chris Abele's veto over adding $4 million into the County Sheriff's budget -- and implementing a fish passage at the Estabrook Dam. But after voting to suspend the rules, a majority voted to combine the issues into one vote.

"But we should not be allowing a majority of this body to simply say we're going to force everybody to vote on two items together; that we would vote differently on," said Supervisor Deanna Alexander.

The reason for tying the two together -- while the $4 million for the Sheriff's Office was "override proof," the other issue was not. For many it was a matter of principle.

"If we don't stand up for the legislative branch, who will?" asked Supervisor John Weishan.

Many of the supervisors were angered by the county executive using what they call a Vanna White method to pick out letters through a piece of legislation to come up with something totally different -- striking out all the rest. In one example, the remaining words read in part, "demolishing the dam."

"We've voted against these Vanna White vetoes as long as I've been on the board," said Weishan.

The override passed with one "no" vote and one abstention. But several supervisors clarified their vote.

"A vote to restore $4 million of $9 million or more that was cut in public safety funding is not an endorsement for who is at the head of that department," said Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic.

Dimitrijevic was referring to Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke. Clarke issued the following statement in the wake of the board's override:

"The County Board did what they could to make a dent in the almost $10 million structural deficit that Abele built into his budget. The $4 million they restored will help close some of that deficit. The supervisors saw through the politics being played with public safety by County Executive Abele.

"This was not about increasing the budget, it was about repairing the nearly $10 million deficit. It still leaves work to do. The sheriff will continue to work with members of the County Board to enhance public safety in Milwaukee County."

FOX6 News reached out to the office of County Executive Chris Abele for comment, but have not heard back yet.

http://fox6now.com/2015/11/18/two-ho...abeles-vetoes/

County Board easily overrides Abele on fish passage, sheriff's funding

The County Board Wednesay overrode a budget veto by County Executive Chris Abele, who tried to block the construction of a $750,000 fish passage at the Estabrook Dam on the Milwaukee River.

By Don Behm of the Journal Sentinel
Nov. 18, 2015

The Milwaukee County Board on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to override both of County Executive Chris Abele's vetoes of board amendments to the 2016 budget, clearing the way for construction of a fish passage around the Estabrook Park dam and the addition of $4 million to the Sheriff's Office budget.

The board voted 15-1, with one abstention, on both vetoes together as a package rather than individually.

The tactic, which required a suspension of board rules, was denounced by some supervisors as a move to ensure construction of the fish passage since it did not have at least 12 supporters on the board floor needed to override a veto.

The amendment to borrow $750,000 to pay part of the cost of a $1.1 million fish passage around the dam on the Milwaukee River was approved Nov. 9 on a 10-7 vote.

There was never any doubt that Abele's veto of adding $4 million of property tax dollars to the Sheriff's Office budget would be overridden since that was approved Nov. 9 on a 17-0 vote of supervisors.

"This is a dark day for the board," Supervisor Patricia Jursik said of the combined vote. "The ploy is obvious."

Though she described herself as a supporter of spending on public safety, Jursik voted against overriding the two vetoes after apologizing to the Sheriff's Office. The majority of county residents support dam removal, she said.

Supervisor Gerry Broderick, a proponent of demolishing the dam, asked to abstain in protest from the vote. "I'm being prohibited from representing my constituents," he said of a single vote on the two issues.

But Supervisor James Schmitt and a few other supervisors said they would vote for lumping the two votes into one as a way to stand up to Abele and maintain checks and balances between the legislative and executive branches of county government.

Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic said the combined vote was needed to object to Abele's use of a so-called Vanna White veto to create new policy on the dam.

Though the board is on record in support of repairing the 1930s-era dam, Abele used a creative veto to selectively leave in certain letters of words in one paragraph of the budget amendment to create the phrase "demolishing the dam."

Dimitrijevic held up the vetoed text to spell it out for the other supervisors. "Wherever you stand on this issue, stand up to this veto," she said.

The vote on Supervisor Willie Johnson Jr.'s motion to combine the votes was approved on a 12-5 vote.

"In the spirit of compromise, the county executive accepted 66 of the board's 68 budget amendments," Raisa Koltun, Abele's chief of staff, said. "He asked them to consider just two of them that collectively raise taxes by millions of dollars. We understand supervisors may disagree with us on the policy issues, but those disagreements can be expressed through a transparent vote, not backroom political maneuvering."

In a statement, Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. thanked the board.

"The County Board did what they could to make a dent in the almost $10 million structural deficit that Abele built into his budget. The $4 million they restored will help close some of that deficit. The supervisors saw through the politics being played with public safety by County Executive Abele," Clarke said.

On Nov. 9, the County Board approved a 1.4% increase in the county property tax levy for next year, up $4 million from this year to $286.98 million.

Total spending of $1.374 billion in 2016 is $36.6 million, or 2.7%, more than this year, under the budget approved by the board.

The full $4 million added to the levy was given to the Sheriff's Office to fill part of a $9.8 million funding gap in the budget Abele provided the office as part of the executive's recommended spending plan.

In his veto message, Abele urged the board to reconsider providing additional funding to the office before a public discussion about the role of a Sheriff's Office in a fully incorporated county patrolled by municipal police departments.

The board's Nov. 9 approval of the fish passage amendment pushed the full cost of renovating the 1930s-era dam to nearly $3.4 million, or double the expense of demolishing it. Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr., a longtime advocate of dam repair, sponsored the amendment.

In his veto message, Abele asked the board to sustain his veto so that he could prepare a financing plan for dam demolition early next year.

Abele called demolition fiscally responsible since it is estimated to cost $1.7 million.

"Removal of the dam is the best and most effective fish passage," Abele said. He reminded supervisors that removal was supported by the Milwaukee Common Council, Shorewood Village Board and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwauk...351511491.html