Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway wants voters to abolish the office of county executive, a position currently held by Scott Walker. In proposing the change, Holloway said the reform was a way to undo the gridlock that many feel has gripped county government. Despite frequent clashing with Walker on issues including taxes, outsourcing and cutting staff and programs, Holloway said his motive for wanting to replace an elected county executive with a County Board-appointed administrator was professionalizing and streamlining county government. In a prepared statement, Walker said he backed consideration of more fundamental reform of county government, and it’s worth noting Walker proposed proposed making the elected Milwaukee county executive optional for Milwaukee County in a bill he introduced as a state lawmaker in 2002.
While the idea of eliminating redundancies in the county’s bureaucracy makes sense, I don’t see this proposal going very far in Madison, even if the citizens of Milwaukee County vote in favor of a referendum on the proposal.
Barron County is having a similar discussion. Duane Hebert, County Administrator, has accepted a position in Minnesota and there is a question whether this position should be refilled.
I believe it should be; however, I think there are many who had a degree of independence before Mr. Hebert and would like that back. They will likely oppose any search for a new administrator.
Let’s face it, a county administrator can spend 40 hours a week managing operations that the Board of Supervisors cannot.