Committee pauses vote on $224,000 Marcus Center request after controller flags accounting questions

A Milwaukee Common Council Finance and Personnel Committee hearing Thursday previewed, but did not approve, a short‑term funding request from the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts to keep the parking structure it operates functional while the city resumes efforts to sell or redevelop the site.

The committee considered a communication from the Department of City Development about the lease that governs the Marcus Center parking structure and capital maintenance projects. Chair Alderman Baumann said the immediate practical need was roughly $224,000 to address concrete and elevator work so the structure remains safe and usable while redevelopment is delayed.

City Controller Bill Christianson, who described his review as a "review" and not a full audit, told the committee he had examined Marcus Center financial statements from 2010 through 2020 and found significant unanswered questions. "I think mostly where I’m at right now is I’ve got probably more unanswered questions than I have answers," he said, noting he saw interfund transfers of about $1.6 million over the period and a $2.9 million administrative allocation that affected the calculation of excess revenue subject to a 50/50 split with the city.

Marcus Center Chief Financial Officer Katie Dillo said staff have been working with former staff and auditors to locate documentation and that some work to keep the garage safe has been performed or committed. She told the committee the center "does about $20,000,000 in revenue" annually but does not necessarily realize all of those cash flows immediately due to contract terms; staff said about $189,000 of concrete work had been completed and elevator repairs were in progress.

Commissioner of City Development Lafayette Crump said the administration did not view the request as creating a legal obligation for the city. "We are not in favor of taking money from DPW to address this," he said, and emphasized the administration’s preference for exploring alternatives, including lender solutions, a mortgage on the land, pursuing TIF options or other creative financing discussed in the developer selection process.

Committee members pressed Marcus Center staff on inconsistent explanations since prior meetings and on the documentation supporting the larger claimed sums (variously described in presentations around $1.6 million, $2.2 million or $2.7–2.9 million). Christianson said his limited review was constrained by time and the availability of electronic records and that additional analysis was needed before reconciling the differing totals.

Members also explored short‑term borrowing and bank covenants. Marcus Center staff cautioned that layering additional debt could trigger new covenants and place their existing line of credit at risk. Council members and administration staff discussed whether the city could offer surety or other backstops to facilitate a loan; Commissioner Crump said those options would require counsel review.

Given outstanding questions and the administration’s opposition to reallocating Department of Public Works funds earmarked for parking‑enforcement vehicles, the committee elected to place the file on hold for further review and moved to revisit the matter at the Finance meeting the following day. Alderman Samper moved to hold the file; the motion carried with no objection.

What’s next: the file will be discussed again at the Finance and Personnel meeting; the comptroller and Marcus Center staff agreed to continue documentary follow‑up to reconcile historical transfers and allocations before the committee considers a fund transfer.