The beach house at Doctor's Park was locked this summer.  There are no longer lifeguards on Milwaukee County beaches.  Pools were closed early last summer. Grass next summer will only be cut every two weeks, guaranteeing it will be overgrown between cuttings.

Our once proud parks system has seen dramatic cuts over the years, but the past two budgets have been the worst for our parks.  Politicians masquerading as reformers have gutted our parks system and have shelved plans to develop other parks.  None of this is necessary.

During my time on the County board, I created four new parks and replaced five unsafe playgrounds.  My work on the Kohl Park master plan earned me the Park People's Teschner award for excellence in public park planning.

Fiscal problems are being used as an excuse for not furthering plans to develop, maintain, and improve County infrastructure.  However, interest rates have been at an all time low.  We will likely not see rates this low again for a generation.  Like a 15-year mortgage, the bonds which are issued yearly by the County are paid back over time.  As the economy improves, earnings on County investments improves and sales tax revenues rise.  Today's fiscal woes are being used as an excuse to gut our parks.

The cuts to our County park system have gotten attention from the media.  Click on the links below to see what they're saying:

National Public Radio, November 9
Milwaukee Park System Suffers
Budget cuts have hit the park system in Milwaukee, Wis., especially hard. Long considered among the nation's finest, supporters now fear for its future. Bob Bach of member station WUWM reports.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, September 14
Declining parks need inventive solutions
Most cities would kill to have even one park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the visionary founder of landscape architecture in America. Milwaukee has three: Lake, Washington and Riverside. But that legacy is threatened by disrepair and an uncertain funding base

Testimonial: Gary Ohm, Master Plumber, Milwaukee County
Parks Dept Master Plumber speaks out on decay of parks and lack of leadership
"We're closing buildings because we're told there's no money for heating systems.  We're draining the buildings down (to winterize them). But when you do that to a building, the paint peels and interiors can be damaged by the frost.  Normally maintenance workers check on buildings but now if a heating system goes down, there's nobody to check for further damage.  I couldn't keep up on my projects in the past when we were down (had cut) three people, but now they cut another one.  I haven't seen (Supervisor) McDonald do anything.  He's just a yes man."