Milwaukee County finance committee approves grants, contracts, transfers and bond authorizations in January session

The Milwaukee County Committee on Finance on Jan. 29 approved a slate of resolutions, contract awards and budget transfers, including authority to accept state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for courthouse security and the Forensic Science Center, authorization to apply for a federal RAISE (now called BUILD) grant for transit improvements on North–South 27th Street, multiple procurement and contract items and an initial bond authorization for 2025 capital projects.

Committee members voted unanimously on the measures that required formal action. The session included presentations from the medical examiner, the courts, transit and county budget staff and discussion—some substantive—about the process for administering county compensation changes and how several capital projects will be financed.

The most notable approvals included authorization to accept $6,250,000 in additional ARPA funds from the state (including a courthouse security allocation and additional money for the Forensic Science Center), formal approval to pursue up to $25 million in federal BUILD/RAISE grant money for bus shelters and transit priority along the Purple Line corridor, and an initial authorizing bond resolution for a not-to-exceed $195.8 million in 2025 bond or note issuances to finance adopted capital projects.

Medical examiner contract and drug testing outreach Karen DeMigalski, operations manager for the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, and Greg Wallace, director of toxicology, briefed the committee on an agreement with the City of Milwaukee Health Department tied to a federal grant for rapid testing of recovered drugs found at death scenes where no crime is alleged. Wallace said the testing is intended to quickly identify substances and cutting agents found in pills and powders and to share findings with community-level outreach and mapping partners.

Supervisor Rolland moved adoption of the agreement; the committee voted 7–0 to recommend approval.

Family Treatment Court enhancement grant Rebecca Foley Kramer and staff described a retroactive application to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for a Family Treatment Court Enhancement Grant focused on expanding supervised parenting time and evidence-based parent coaching. County staff said there is no county match required and that the grant will fund external evaluation by the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Supervisor Rolland moved adoption; the committee voted 7–0 to recommend approval.

Commissary contract and revenues Chantelle Jewell, superintendent of the Community Reintegration Center, presented a proposed two-year purchase-of-service contract (with three one-year extensions) with Union Supply Group to provide commissary services at the Community Reintegration Center and Milwaukee County Jail. Fiscal estimates presented by Mike Bickerstaff showed projected revenue of roughly $525,000 for the CRC and $320,000 for the sheriff’s office under the contract.

Vice Chair Supervisor Steve Taylor moved adoption; the committee voted 7–0 to recommend approval.

Purple Line (North–South 27th Street) RAISE/BUILD grant application David Logan, manager of enhanced transit for the Milwaukee County Transit System, and Anthony Geiger of the Department of Transportation described a federal grant application under the program often called RAISE (recently renamed BUILD). County staff said the application seeks up to $25 million with no local match and would invest in an 18-mile corridor that spans five municipalities and serves about 118,000 residents, of whom county staff reported roughly 73 percent are persons of color and about 26 percent of families live in poverty.

If funded, the project would fund 69 new bus shelters (15 at locations that currently have none), corridor-wide transit-signal priority and other capital investments intended to support future Bus Rapid Transit. Logan said awards are expected in late June; staff cautioned the funding cutoff in a recent federal amendment reduced the available national pool and makes the competition particularly intense.

Supervisor Martinez moved adoption of the request to apply and accept; the committee voted 7–0 to recommend approval.

Capital delivery plan and project items Sean Hayes, interim director of Facilities Management, presented an updated project delivery plan for the 2025 adopted capital improvements. The report cites Milwaukee County ordinance 5630 and Wisconsin Statute 59.52 for project reporting and approvals, and it extends 2024 authorization and reporting requirements tied to professional services on certain park lands.

Supervisor Steve Taylor moved adoption; the committee voted 7–0 to recommend approval.

Area Agency on Aging plan Deputy Director David Mohammed and Emily Peterson reviewed the Milwaukee County Area Agency on Aging plan for 2025–2027, describing a yearlong planning process driven by the commission on aging and public input. The plan contains 41 goals addressing advocacy, nutrition and local services; staff said surveys and hearings were translated and held widely across the county.

Supervisor Shaquana Taylor moved adoption; the committee voted 7–0 to recommend approval.

Housing support passive-review provider change County staff presented a passive-review notice that Community Advocates will assume a housing support service contract previously provided by Inner Beauty for a domestic-violence-related West Haven housing project. County staff said the change is a provider swap and the service remains the same; the item was informational under county review rules.

ARPA increases for courthouse security and Forensic Science Center Joe Lamers of the Office of Strategy, Budget and Performance told the committee the State increased Milwaukee County’s awards by $6,250,000 from the state’s ARPA allocation: $2,300,000 for court-related security (broken down in staff remarks as $2,000,000 for courtroom security walls and $300,000 for sheriff staffing) and $3,950,000 (the report text) for the Forensic Science Center project. During discussion, Lamers later referred to $3,900,000 for the Forensic Science Center; that numerical difference appears in the transcript. The committee recommended adoption 7–0.

Compensation transformation fund transfers and process concerns The committee approved administrative authority to process fund transfers to cover salary and related Social Security costs arising from a countywide compensation transformation. Dan Lorla (operating budget director) and Joe Lamers explained the money was already budgeted and the action authorizes moving funds from central accounts to departments as HR implements classification and range changes. Several supervisors questioned process and timing, noting that personnel committee receives informational reports about individual position changes and asking whether finance should see those approvals before the transfers are processed. Staff said HR will report position-level changes to the Personnel Committee (reference file 25-16) and that the current item is limited to transferring budget authority already included in the adopted budgets. The committee recommended adoption 7–0.

Appropriation packets (2024 and 2025) and other transfers The committee approved an appropriation packet for fiscal year 2024 that included several transfers: $52,000 in medical examiner reallocation for equipment; $122,000 in Department of Transportation IT and traffic signal work; $126,000 for DHHS Aging AmeriCorps senior companion program revenue recognition; roughly $448,000 of zoo project carryovers; and a $300,000 contingency draw for workers’ compensation claims. The committee also approved a 2025 appropriation packet that included a $111,000 airport revenue reduction, $1.9 million carryover from 2024 for DOT, $714,000 in FTA carryover revenue and a consolidation of airport parking structure capital projects.

Initial bond authorization and unspent bond reallocations Pamela Bryant, capital finance manager for the comptroller’s office, presented an initial authorizing resolution for up to $195.8 million in 2025 general obligation bonds or notes to finance adopted capital projects and to reimburse prior expenditures consistent with federal rules. Staff provided a line-item breakdown of the not-to-exceed amount and an illustrative estimate of 2026 debt-service effects; staff said the estimated annual increase in debt service for the 2026 budget would be roughly $17.4 million, driven in part by the museum and forensic science building projects but that actual issuance timing will be matched to project cash-flow needs.

The committee also approved reallocating $1.1 million in unspent bond proceeds to pay eligible debt service and to cover shortfalls on several ongoing capital projects; the remainder will go to a countywide unallocated contingency.

Trust accounts and informational reports The comptroller recommended closing several trust and agency accounts whose purposes no longer exist; the committee approved the closures, which include the W.G. Bruce Memorial account and a Soccer Association account, and staff said balances will be closed according to trust documents or remitted to responsible departments. The meeting also received informational reports on contractual notifications, carryover appropriations and litigation status; deputy corporation counsel William Davidson provided brief updates on the Wellpath bankruptcy and the county’s participation in an insulin price‑fixing litigation.

Votes at a glance - Item 1 (Memorial for Shaday Robinson in "Warner Mark Park"): Motion to lay over to the call of the chair (mover Supervisor Martinez). Outcome: Laid over; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 2 (Medical Examiner agreement with City of Milwaukee Health Department for drug rapid testing/outreach): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Rolland). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 3 (OJJDP Family Treatment Court Enhancement Grant acceptance/application): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Rolland). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 4 (Union Supply commissary contract for CRC and jail): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Vice Chair Supervisor Steve Taylor). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 5 (Authorization to apply for/accept RAISE/BUILD grant for Purple Line improvements): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Martinez). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 6 (Updated 2025 capital project delivery plan): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Steve Taylor). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 7 (Submit 2025–2027 Milwaukee County Area Agency on Aging plan to Wisconsin DHS): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Shaquana Taylor). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 8 (Passive review: housing support provider change to Community Advocates): Passive review/informational; no formal committee action required. - Item 9 (Acceptance and appropriation of $6,250,000 ARPA increases from the state for courthouse security and Forensic Science Center): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Rolland). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. (Transcript contains both $3,950,000 and $3,900,000 references for the forensic center allocation.) - Item 10 (Authority to process administrative fund transfers tied to compensation transformation): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Steve Taylor). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. Committee discussion raised process concerns about timing and oversight; staff said HR will report actions to the Personnel Committee (ref. file 25-16). - Item 11 (2024 appropriation packet — five transfers): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Vice Chair Supervisor Steve Taylor). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 12 (2025 appropriation packet — four transfers): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor O'Connor). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 13 (Initial authorizing resolution: up to $195,800,000 in GO bonds/notes to finance capital projects): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Rowland). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 14 (Allocate ~$1.1M in unspent bond proceeds to debt service and project shortfalls): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Rowland). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos. - Item 15 (Close trust and agency accounts whose purposes no longer exist): Motion to recommend adoption (mover Supervisor Rowland). Outcome: Recommended for adoption; roll call recorded 7 ayes, 0 nos.

What happens next Most items approved by the committee will go to the full County Board for final action. Several items are carry‑forwards or require interdepartmental implementation, including grant administration, contract execution and bond sales, which county staff said will be matched to project cash‑flow needs.

(Reporting note: quotes and attributions in this report follow speakers’ first appearance in the committee record.)