Milwaukee County Receives Much Needed Help; More On The Way?

[hornblast]

Some good news from http://milwaukeecountyfirst.com/?p=126">Milwaukee County First. (Note: I serve on the group's executive board.)

Milwaukee County Supervisor Theo Lipscomb gave us the good news with a press release he issued yesterday:

Milwaukee County Supervisor Theodore Lipscomb, Chairman of the Milwaukee County Board’s Task Force on Economic Stimulus, is updating County residents on the progress being made in receiving federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At this morning’s Task Force meeting, the Fiscal and Budget Administrator reported that nearly $67 million dollars in stimulus funds have been approved, and the County has applied for an additional $130 million. Click here to read the full report presented to the Task Force.

“This progress is significant and is largely attributed to the actions of the County Board of Supervisors. Our policy aggressively pursues stimulus funds on behalf of the County residents who pay into the federal tax system,” Supervisor Lipscomb said. “I am pleased that the County Executive’s office is complying with County policy, and I thank his staff for working with the County Board to apply for these stimulus dollars.”

In particular, the Build America Bonds issued by the County earlier this year will save taxpayers more than $1 million over the life the bonds. These debt service savings are due to bonds’ tax credits that effectively reduce the interest rate to 3.3%, which would not have been possible without the stimulus package’s Build America Bonds.

“This is an excellent deal for County taxpayers,” Supervisor Lipscomb added. “So far, we have been able to secure more than one-third of the potential stimulus funding we have pursued, and Milwaukee County will continue moving forward in the best interest of our residents and taxpayers.”

This piece of good news was quickly followed up with a story from http://dailyreporter.com/blog/2009/07/29/milwaukee-county-chases-another-130-million-in-stimulus-money-511-pm-72909/">The Daily Reporter:

The county alreadyhas received $2.5 million for a project to move roads to create larger safety zones around the runways at General Mitchell International Airport. The county has applied for $11.75 million for local roads and received $1 million. It has received $4.86 million for county highways and has applications for another $74.8 million pending.

The county also requested $200,000 to clean contamination on properties in the Park East corridor. Milwaukee County already has borrowed $31.98 million using Build America bonds, which get federal subsidies to lower interest payments. The county anticipates debt service on the Build America bonds will be $1 million cheaper than the cost of using county tax-exempt bonds.

Milwaukee County First commends Supverisor Lipscomb and the other members of the Task Force for working through the resistance shown by the County Executive and putting Milwaukee County first in seeking this sorely needed aid.

[midnight]

1. I don't come here everyday, but maybe I should. Now that Scott

wants to shut the County down. With all the Milwaukee county money going into the airport, will it be a loss to taxpayers when/if scott sells the airport to the private sector?