[{"_1":2,"_119":-5,"_120":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,86,98,109],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6598812,"mediaKeyId","3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34","parentId",3025712,"title","Fraud hotline complaints fall in 2024; abuse and employee-conduct reports remain most common actionable items","audioSeconds",811,"startMs",6579000,"endMs",7390000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34&start=6579&end=7390","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34/thumbnail_6579000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6598812/Milwaukee/Milwaukee-County/Wisconsin/Fraud-hotline-complaints-fall-in-2024-abuse-and-employee-conduct-reports-remain-most-common-actionable-items","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598812-d9df7dd55d4b45c5c604017c4ccc91d6/orig.mp4?Expires=1773190496&Signature=X1TvuAUE38hy04-pJRJljHhcl9X2guIKPgdvAFvkDaWPLg~W0syr4zwClzPbcJBBld9oZOPM-iGLOQ77TMTdDnUHqYXrzPC-l0GR16uIJsj4npSwlaudXwo1ZUcTw6-r8v04x717mvg1V8IxhF6~yWRr9r3qN5xlDC~6xQVjU8SzOo5abWTFtpGmlJ53WKNYmbuIugQWv8PQ6oKeyxE4mPKmUidhyT9O~edJyUwHaXdzOksVda3uf4Q7T61o3Ip9lME3PFG3FH2sQH17mPKl5zb3H58-nDCLrNFEsJuLZy8uUvylNejZwt4EMcFEnvQjHClpZjtln9bjJI5ix6RroA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Milwaukee","date","2025-04-16T09:09:00Z","article","The office that runs Milwaukee’s fraud, waste and abuse hotline reported to the Finance and Personnel Committee that the number of complaints fell to 79 in 2024, a year‑over‑year decline largely driven by fewer non‑city and service‑request submissions.

Adriana Molina, audit manager who runs the hotline, said the 70% decrease from 2023 to 2024 was mostly explained by fewer non‑city complaints (for example, private marketplace disputes or state‑level benefits issues) that had previously been routed to the hotline. “That number seems very alarming off the jump, but later in the presentation you’ll see that most of that jump is actually non city, so like, service requests,” Molina said.

Molina and Senior Auditor Becca Bain told the committee that actionable complaints — those within the hotline’s city scope — continue to be dominated by allegations of abuse, typically employee conduct or personal use of property. Of the cases the office handled in 2024, two departments had substantiated findings: the Department of Neighborhood Services and the Police Department each had one substantiated case. There were no substantiated cases of fraud or waste in 2024.

Accessibility and process: Molina emphasized that the hotline remains accessible and that anonymous reports are permitted. “If you just Google City of Milwaukee fraud hotline, we come right up,” she said, summarizing where the public can find the reporting form, phone numbers and resources. The hotline refers many complaints to departments for investigation and follows up to verify departmental responses.

Ending: The committee placed the hotline annual report on file; members praised the hotline as an internal control and noted the value of anonymous reporting for whistleblowers.

Quotes in context: The key figures and process description were presented by audit staff at the hearing; departments receive referrals and record investigative follow-up that the audit office tracks and verifies.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Milwaukee - FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE on 2025-04-16 9:00 AM - This is also a virtual meeting. Those wishing to view the proceedings are able to do sovia the City Channel - Channel 25 on Spectrum Cable - or on the Internet athttp://city.milwaukee.gov/citychannel - Apr 16, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The city’s fraud, waste and abuse hotline received 79 complaints in 2024, a drop driven largely by fewer non‑city and service‑request submissions, auditors told the Finance and Personnel Committee.","taxTitle","Milwaukee , Milwaukee County, Wisconsin","taxId",2851,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":44,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6598817,"City updates ERP replacement: Workday configuration complete, full go‑live pushed to mid‑2026; budget 'within 1%' of original estimate",3692,2887000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34&start=2887&end=6579","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34/thumbnail_2887000.jpg","/articles/6598817/Milwaukee/Milwaukee-County/Wisconsin/City-updates-ERP-replacement-Workday-configuration-complete-full-golive-pushed-to-mid2026-budget-within-1-of-original-estimate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598817-6a9f9ccfe5515fcdd5a994f8c21b1b15/orig.mp4?Expires=1773190496&Signature=EIHIBxxEyyxLb3Tw3FY5SOPcsIGr6WfLB9gjv-ZRPkoxXGcT-lBYA7Ok6LInylOjK0yWYxqlkE8emojYBjA8LpdPDR9rhFAxFW6C-oFaHUfMR7gd5mQ~ipEZ46W3G3AJ2FMnFzdLW0dx~70va53K0Om4smK3jWxBATIYTzDI8eq40ywX4IbuRpH-DlHtB6cQyIron3IL-4iH1duoLNQgGpOqsvxKUqDTFoKhDYr-nEynAFTJGzWE61nnEFi~DNiByfscJSoG2mllr3JDVePY9SBETyJhRreiXxxM4JSxqVkA6HFPXxymLO5ig70C53TRFhqNC4kg4CyEQQNhMYp70Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City information-technology and budget officials updated the Finance and Personnel Committee on the enterprise resource planning (ERP) replacement project intended to modernize payroll, human resources, budgeting and finance systems.

David Henke, chief information officer for the Department of Administration’s Information and Technology Management Division, said the city selected Workday as the software platform and Accenture as the implementation partner. He said the project is through the configuration phase and remains on an updated schedule that delays a full cutover to mid-2026 to reduce staff strain and allow more thorough testing.

On cost and schedule: Henke said the project has roughly $18 million allocated, with just over $10 million expended to date and about $6 million remaining for 2025 and early 2026 work. “If you look at the bottom lines, for our total estimate of completion, and our original estimate, we’re within, like, 1%, just below 1% of where we anticipated being,” he told the committee.

Why the change: Henke said the original plan — to go live on parts of the system earlier — put excessive pressure on staff who must keep core city operations running while participating in the conversion. He said the revised timeline groups HR, finance, payroll and time reporting into a single production go-live planned for June 2026 to allow expanded end‑to‑end testing and stronger change management.

Officials highlighted benefits such as one sign-on for multiple services, improved mobile time and approval workflows, integrated budget and grant management modules, and fewer costly customizations. Henke said Workday’s fixed‑price contract and lower long‑term operating costs mean the city expects lower annual software costs after an initial period.

Staffing and risk: Henke acknowledged team strain and frequent meetings required to finish configuration and clean data for testing. He said management has used wage supplements and schedule adjustments and continues to monitor staff workload. Committee members asked about potential burnout and the impact of broader city remote-work policy changes; Henke said the project team is tracking those effects and will continue to adjust timeline and staffing approaches.

Ending: The committee held the file to the call of the chair for future updates; members said they expect additional status reports during the 2026 budget process.","City IT officials told the Finance and Personnel Committee that the Workday ERP implementation has completed configuration and is scheduled for a combined HR, payroll and finance go‑live in June 2026, after a timeline extension to ease staff strain.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6598826,"Comptroller: Milwaukee 2% sales tax brought in $200.6 million in 2024, $16.6M above budget estimate",1205,51000,1256000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34&start=51&end=1256","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34/thumbnail_51000.jpg","/articles/6598826/Milwaukee/Milwaukee-County/Wisconsin/Comptroller-Milwaukee-2-sales-tax-brought-in-2006-million-in-2024-166M-above-budget-estimate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598826-90c9ab883cf61094667acbd5e3d2b027/orig.mp4?Expires=1773190496&Signature=NojZuNHj0Xz0qfQAtBQIGMmLFbk9QGzRyJOMHmhZTNcSs0CVOZYm1ksWzZ3v52Q5sDrUbgLHNfxv2XcWtHZMXg0TqJE7VkNO0Ar1oR8kdCXYGtpnfM75Ns2rK73iti5gQSBMyxjXs1Hh8Wt7Fj9U9dNXz3nDfZXkN6Sf87iuOq735IfQ0rHm5F91t7NIIJxGB2T4r9qbvHBgezFX-nw6Mu9o5B1MXD~jKZWugRVkjy~x89kWGlR0IVB5PuAjm8kjUndVxg4h8s~Pa~-qSgBXJpiPNAeozp43jkkU6kSnUU~YF5ocBoAL7ksbcBJU3IgEPgrYa9R8c0B-AFlp1QRfAg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A city comptroller’s report to the Milwaukee Common Council Finance and Personnel Committee found that the city-only 2% sales tax generated $200,621,090 in fiscal 2024, $16,600,000 more than the $184,000,000 estimate in the 2024 budget.

The comptroller, Bill Christiansen, said the city’s estimate was intentionally conservative because “there was no reliable historical data for taxable sales in just the city of Milwaukee” and because the model relied on the share of county taxable sales that occurred inside the city. He told the committee: “For example, the different data sets that we were working with supported the city share of county taxable sales being anywhere from 47% to 52%. So, in our model, we went with the low end that was supported by the data, 47%.” The Department of Revenue later determined that Milwaukee made up 50.5% of the county’s sales tax base in 2024.

Why it matters: The revenue exceeded the city’s forecast by 9%, improving the city’s fiscal position for 2024 and reducing immediate pressure on contingency reserves. But Christiansen cautioned that uncertainty remains for future years because 2024 was the first year of a city-only sales tax and the city had only limited months of experience when it prepared the 2025 estimate.

Comptroller Christiansen described other factors that complicated forecasting, including implementation delays, early noncompliance by some retailers, changing retail patterns such as online sales taxation, the role of retail centers outside the city and broad macroeconomic uncertainty such as inflation and recession fears. “So the way that we accounted for uncertainty…and the consequences of being too high in our estimate were far more severe than the consequences of being too low, for each of those variables in the model, we went with the lowest end of the range that was still supported by the data,” he said.

Looking ahead, the comptroller’s office submitted a fiscal 2025 sales tax estimate of $192,900,000 in August 2024. Christiansen told the committee that with 2024 actuals at $200.6 million, “I’d say there’s a very high likelihood that sales tax revenue in 2025, again, exceeds estimates,” but he declined to make guarantees because of recent global economic volatility.

Committee members asked about early 2025 distributions and monthly signals; Christiansen said year-to-year comparisons of single months are a weak indicator and that the city typically needs multiple years of city-only data before it would feel comfortable changing its conservative approach. Alderman Peter Bergellis, the committee vice chair, asked whether preliminary first-quarter numbers were available; Christiansen said the city had only January and part of February distributions at that point and was still awaiting April data from the state.

Ending: The committee accepted the report and placed the communication on hold to the call of the chair for follow-up; members said they expect further discussion of permissible uses for any sales tax overage in subsequent meetings, given statutory limits under Act 12.","A city comptroller’s report to the Milwaukee Common Council Finance and Personnel Committee found that the city-only 2% sales tax generated $200,621,090 in fiscal 2024, $16.6 million (9%) above the $184 million estimate included in the 2024 budget.",{"_33":99,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":100,"_41":101,"_43":102,"_45":102,"_47":103,"_49":104,"_51":105,"_53":106,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":107,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":108,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6598809,"Finance committee approves vacancies, transfers and contract amendments; carries over select 2024 balances",0,3254000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34&start=3254&end=3254","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34/thumbnail_3254000.jpg","/articles/6598809/Milwaukee/Milwaukee-County/Wisconsin/Finance-committee-approves-vacancies-transfers-and-contract-amendments-carries-over-select-2024-balances","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598809-e3b939425571e26943101df7192385ac/orig.mp4?Expires=1773190496&Signature=DckZ11vu2biWih5YqbuxhpSFv~qy9zekAXGRAsb4MkekxlcM72ZX-wSVZQTAyv~taY-FKaMBuAhHwutHhXiRyR2Tk1Dyvc8KXrzxN1u2nOVwR9CpJy9qdUhTvAg1MWX5bFsHU8MOZTDw2D7PFKpABgBJTiA60iywLcDYhE94kh0TGa1MOwVhBuQI~gNu7b-SLkfzi1Rx44cw3IY8dsVDQ~euWUSrVS-aGwWaSdVZWAYfAfztaVbzhLUBrvb6a6Z8dEvq0PGEJL31I9~eOw-lJDOHTvgy6sA4c-Q6le9LeIU4XbcBo2htgRHxUZmQIMP-cXt75HiFp9uJMJuO8IMGLQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Finance and Personnel Committee voted through a series of administrative items including vacancy authorizations, contract amendments, fund transfers and 2024 carryovers.

Key approvals and actions: The committee approved vacancy and recruitment requests across departments (including Public Works, Health, Library, Police and Water Works) and moved multiple contract amendments and sole-source renewals. Purchasing Director Rhonda Kelsey told the committee the assessor’s printing contract with AB Data was increased by $500,000 to cover assessment‑notice printing through 2027; she said AB Data was the lowest compliant bidder and a local firm.

Other contract amendments placed on file included maintenance contracts for police elevators (MEI Total Elevator Solutions), Water Works generator maintenance, CentralSquare maintenance for the Fire Department records management system and a short‑term health‑department billing assessment. Kelsey said some proprietary systems require single‑source maintenance because the systems have proprietary components.

Carryovers and contingent fund: The committee adopted a substitute resolution authorizing carryovers of specified 2024 fund balances in accordance with Wisconsin Statute 65.071(5). The committee also approved a substitute resolution rescinding reserved commitments and appropriating remaining common-council contingent funds to close 2024 books; the budget director said the contingent fund was largely sufficient and the city did not need to borrow to close 2024, though he noted close margins.

Budget and operating questions: Committee members pressed departments for detail on several overages. Chuck Schumacher, operations administration manager for DPW, explained that the DPW operations salt account was about $435,000 over budget because the city used roughly 32,000 tons of salt in 2024 and total delivered cost was “about, in total about 80 ish dollars ton.” Tim Thur, infrastructure services division, said DPW’s vacancy rate had been below 20% and vacancies were distributed across job titles.

Other personnel and classification items: The committee placed on file classification study recommendations for Fire & Police Commission titles and approved salary footnotes for demolition crews and clerical corrections to the salary ordinance.

Ending: Committee members approved the packet of routine items with instructions to departments to provide more detailed analyses (e.g., salt usage and DPW staffing trends) as requested.","The Finance and Personnel Committee approved a batch of vacancy requests, fund transfers, contract amendments and carryover measures including a $500,000 added amendment for the assessor’s printing contract with AB Data, carryover appropriations under section 65.071(5) and contingency transfers to close the 2024 books. Members asked follow-ups on",{"_33":110,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":111,"_41":112,"_43":91,"_45":102,"_47":113,"_49":114,"_51":115,"_53":116,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":117,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":118,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6598821,"City pension officials warn market swings could boost Milwaukee contribution needs; sales tax allocation complicates outlook",1998,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34&start=1256&end=3254","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3025712-951689ec73512834eebb3e2650b03e34/thumbnail_1256000.jpg","/articles/6598821/Milwaukee/Milwaukee-County/Wisconsin/City-pension-officials-warn-market-swings-could-boost-Milwaukee-contribution-needs-sales-tax-allocation-complicates-outlook","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6598821-d720c5ea453af394f8a84ac710f39003/orig.mp4?Expires=1773190496&Signature=J~-rKtaX~2EEkAICKJcqoPrBCtDx5M43FaNcgV5N1qDb0bg9MTXTkFJ1hkFCaT0s7~jZdaJmx3a0xfbUCYgMngu8Gcg~VQwI~lIeKavixdKJPGQtMLZOkIbgnn85wzDOoolZZDlZF5yClcXX5hZKOhPY~mf0cYE~knCDVYbPgR7MMXkOznK~T6pnGZqYg6bKNf4nt3Zn3gkRjXlsLGh8Zl5nef0yifqE8k6EDYqXRu076C74vPEftauXxWJf--zRKuT1s4BhgPbiFpS3KtAERy4MQCiCFdjceSZvXGbpOIx1h0xO~3QJ2zjYNpnRLxAa8LFXIoGqUJ4yJTMpUFRfTQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Officials for the City of Milwaukee Employees’ Retirement System told the Finance and Personnel Committee that market swings and recent changes in state law could increase the city’s required pension contributions in coming years.

Jerry Allen, executive director of the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), told the committee the fund was resilient historically but had moved from an estimated +1.9% as of March 24 to an estimated -1.5% on April 9 amid market volatility; ERS Chief Investment Officer David Silber reported a year-to-date return of about -0.6% in a recent estimate and a fund value near $5.92 billion. Silber said the fund’s relatively modest exposure to public domestic equities helped reduce downside volatility compared with some peers.

Why it matters: Under Act 12, the pension-related portion of the recently enacted sales tax is earmarked for pension costs, but the ERS actuary warned that actuarial smoothing and the assumed 6.8% investment return mean large market declines can translate into materially higher city contribution requirements over several years.

Actuarial scenario: Larry Langer, the fund’s independent actuary with Kevin and McDonald, said the plan’s funding rules smooth investment returns over five years. “For example, if we miss our bogey by 1%…on a $6,000,000,000 fund, that’s $60,000,000. It doesn’t get recognized immediately because we…smooth our asset values over 5 years. So only 1 fifth of that gets recognized in any 1 year, but still, that’s a big number. It’s $12,000,000. That's a huge impact on the city budget,” Langer said.

Langer also said Act 12 removed the city’s prior “stable contribution policy,” lowered the discount rate used in valuations and set longer amortization windows in some cases; those changes raise the risk that employer contribution amounts will be higher and less predictable. He presented a projection in which employer contributions could rise to roughly $206 million by 2028 under some smoothing assumptions — roughly $30 million higher than earlier projections used in legislative analyses when Act 12 was considered.

Scope and allocations: ERS staff explained that 90% of the 2% sales tax, up to the statutory cap, is designated for pension-related costs (unfunded liabilities and normal cost increases) and up to 10% may be used for police and fire public safety spending. Officials cautioned that the statutory allocations and reporting obligations under Act 12 add complexity to budgeting decisions.

Ending: Committee members asked the budget director for a memo describing the fiscal effects and to work with ERS, the comptroller and the city attorney on forecasting and reporting. The committee placed the communication on file for follow-up.","The City of Milwaukee Employees’ Retirement System presented to the Finance and Personnel Committee about recent market volatility, saying the $5.92 billion fund was about -0.6% year-to-date at a recent estimate and that failing to meet the 6.8% actuarial target creates multi-year budget pressures. Officials and the actuary said Act 12 and other","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Fraud hotline complaints fall in 2024; abuse and employee-conduct reports remain most common actionable items

City updates ERP replacement: Workday configuration complete, full go‑live pushed to mid‑2026; budget 'within 1%' of original estimate

Comptroller: Milwaukee 2% sales tax brought in $200.6 million in 2024, $16.6M above budget estimate

Finance committee approves vacancies, transfers and contract amendments; carries over select 2024 balances

City pension officials warn market swings could boost Milwaukee contribution needs; sales tax allocation complicates outlook