MMSD Redux: The Water Works

The City of Milwaukee has a never-ending quest: make the suburbs pay for Milwaukee's horrific overspending.

MMSD is one example. It's a taxing body and its management is dominated by City of Milwaukee appointees. That despite the fact that the City of Milwaukee's population is a MINORITY of the "served" area's population and despite that troublesome "taxation without representation" phrase which caused problems for King George a couple hundred years ago.

Now comes the water works.

Suburban representatives Wednesday called a proposed Milwaukee Water Works rate increase excessive, pointing to jumps of as much as 47% in Mequon and 39% in New Berlin

...With two treatment plants, Lewis said, the Water Works has a capacity of 380 million gallons a day, although average daily usage is 105 million gallons and she couldn't recall any day that usage exceeded 160 million gallons.

One might call that 'excessive' preparedness.

But that's not the best part, folks.

Suburban officials took aim at Milwaukee's plan to transfer $3 million of Water Works revenue into the city's general fund to balance this year's city budget. Wauwatosa Water Superintendent James Wojcehowicz said the suburbs wanted to keep the Water Works financially sound but didn't want to subsidize Milwaukee's city budget.

Let's ignore the fact that the entire STATE of Wisconsin "subsidizes" Milwaukee's schools budget--handsomely--and just concentrate on the facts:

Milwaukee overspends on its labor. Period. Milwaukee hires too many people, who are paid and benefitted VERY well.

Henry Maier, John Norquist, and Tommy PoopMeister have played that game very well--and have even managed to force the 'burbs to contribute to the fat.

It will stop, soon. King Tommy Poopmeister might just have to deliver the news to the AFSCME gang, and it won't be fun.