McGEE: CUT COP FUNDS BY $500K

Sponsors Sought for Measure that Would Provide Revenue for Underfunded Posses and Vigilante Groups

By Michael Horne

Jailhouse Legislator Ald. Michael McGee, Jr. today offered a 2008 budget amendment to take $500,000 from the Milwaukee Police Department salary account to fund unarmed civilian patrols. The loot would be kept in a special purpose account and released upon council resolution at the request of members.

McGee must first find a sponsor for his proposed amendment among the five members of the Finance and Personnel Committee of the Milwaukee Common Council, which will be impossible to do in person unless his colleagues drop in on visiting day, wherever he is being held. [McGee’s attorney, Glenn Givens, said he was “not inclined to answer questions from the general public” as to the location of his client’s cell. Let’s hope it’s Guantanamo.—Ed.]

Anyway, wherever he is, (D.A. John Chisholm just called to say he's in Waukesha county Jail) McGee was able to issue a press release on the subject this morning.

How the heck do you do that from jail?

According to Bill Arnold of the Milwaukee City Clerk’s office, McGee transmitted his interest in the legislation to his aide in a telephone call that was certainly monitored, as are all of McGee’s communications. The aide then took the request to the clerk’s staff.

According to Arnold, “The alderman went to his assistant in a phone conversation. Then I got a call from [City Clerk] Ron Leonhardt,” who said to proceed. Arnold hammered out a suitable release, and the search is on for a sponsor.

[It won’t be Ald. Joe Dudzik, who tells Milwaukeeworld he will not be the one to introduce the legislation to the committee. The other four aldermen on the committee, (Michael Murphy, Michael D’Amato, Robert Donovan and Joe Davis, Sr.) have not yet responded to a request for their position.—Ed.]

McGee’s aide makes the case for her boss’ idea in the press release, saying, “the alderman knows that Alderman Hamilton has his Commandos, Ald. Zielinski has the Guardian Angels, Ald. Donovan has Neighborhood Ambassadors and others, and Aldermen Hines and Witkowski helped create the community service officers.”

Apparently in McGee’s mind aldermen have autonomy over their districts similar to that of Kurdish tribal chieftains. McGee’s own posse, the Rapid Response Team, founded in 2004, has suffered some loss of prestige, what with its Capo di Capo being in jail and all that.

The Milwaukee Police Association reacted instantly to the suggestion that its budget be shorn of $500,000 to hire the unarmed troops.

“We are totally against it – putting untrained citizens on the streets,” said Thomas E. Fischer, vice president of the union.

Milwaukeeworld will stay on top of this story and will report to you the instant one of Ald. McGee’s colleagues decides to sponsor this legislation diverting police resources to vigilante groups. But they must hurry – the next meeting of the committee is Thursday, November 1^st, 2007 at 9 a.m. In the event McGee’s colleagues decline to sponsor this legislation, “McGee will have the opportunity to re-submit the amendment 24 hours prior to the Council’s November 9 budget adoption meeting,” the press release notes.

[UPDATE: Count Donovan out! He told WTMJ-AM 620 Radio that while McGee is an interesting fellow with interesting ideas, he cannot rely on his south side colleague to sponsor this bill. This means McGee's chances are looking slim unless D'Amato, Murphy or Davis sponsor this legislation.]
[UPDATE: 2:07 p.m. -- Ald. Donovan sent this response to Milwaukeeworld's question if he would sponsor the amendment:

Heck no.
And you can quote me on that.
McGee's press release does mention several civilian patrol groups such as the Guardian Angels and the Neighborhood Ambassadors. But the difference with them is that these other groups are either volunteers or are privately funded. When we are facing increasing demand for public safety and are about 250 officers short on the force, I cannot support taking half a million in taxpayer dollars to support a patrol group that has no authority to arrest, detain, or ticket offenders.

Certainly citizen patrol groups can help augment the police force and can help beef up neighborhood security. But when taxpayers are footing the bill, they deserve more for their money than an outfit with no real teeth. --Ed.]

[Update -- October 31st, 2007 -- It appears that no sponsor has come forth for Ald. McGee's amendment.. Ald. Joe Davis is in South Africa, and will not attend the meeting. Ald. Michael Murphy, the chairman of the committee said he will not sponsor the legislation, and that he doubts Ald. Michael S. D'Amato, the vice-chair will do so either. Sorry, McGee. We tried. -- Ed.]