State Senator- R.I.P. Milwaukee

State Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) released an obituary written for the city of Milwaukee today in response to a vote by the Joint Finance Committee on Thursday backing a ban on residency requirements for local government employees. One way city government has preserved its property tax base – and its livelihood – is by requiring its own employees to live within the city limits. The city’s police and fire unions, who backed Gov. Scott Walker in 2010, have been perhaps the most outspoken opponents of the rules.

Barrett has intensified his support of them in recent days and expressed disgust with the legislature for intervening in local affairs (lawmakers may also approve a bill downsizing the Milwaukee County Board). “I’m thinking Act 10, they want us to negotiate with unions,” Barrett told the Journal Sentinel. “Now we are negotiating with the legislative leadership. It’s insanity.”

Carpenter’s obituary, which supposes that a downturn in tax revenue would cause the city to implode, reads as follows:

Obituary: City of Milwaukee, born January 31, 1846 – died May 9, 2013 Madison 

Wisconsin.

Milwaukee was incorporated two years before Wisconsin became a state in 1848. It 

was the 28th most populous city in America with a population just shy of 600,000 

people.

Milwaukee reached its zenith in 1960 with 741,000 citizens, and like Detroit it was a 

major US manufacturing center. Milwaukee’s unfortunate demise followed that of

Detroit. It was exacerbated by the state repeal of the requirement that local public 

employees live in the same city that was taxed to pay their salaries.

For over 75 years, Milwaukee public workers living in Milwaukee helped provide

the city with a robust middle class. This middle class stabilized property values and 

contributed an economic vitality to a city that had been hard hit by the loss of 

manufacturing industry jobs in the late twentieth century.

The repeal of local residency requirements by Governor Scott Walker and some 

Republican legislators was widely understood to be an unabashed political pay-off 

for the Milwaukee Police and Fire Unions for their loyal political support of 

Governor Walker and legislative Republicans.

Services will be held by Governor Scott Walker at the bill signing of the Republican 

state budget in Madison. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the 

Milwaukee Police and Fire Union presidents to help pay moving expenses for their 

migration out of Milwaukee.