Milwaukee County Board makes end-around to fire County Economic Development Director

This just sums up why the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors is dysfunctional…

The public should clear its throat to politely remind Milwaukee County’s supervisors that everyone can see them finagling to fire Brian Taffora.

It’s the kind of petty political back stabbing that usually takes place behind closed doors or in dark corners of quiet bars. Politicians huddle together, plot ways to damage their enemies and then subtly slide in the knife without leaving fingerprints.

Such cunning, apparently, is beyond the 14 Milwaukee County supervisors who voted to change the title of Taffora’s position from “economic development director” to “director of county economic development.”

When those supervisors approved the job title change during a budget meeting Monday, not one of them justified the action by explaining how it would improve the operations of county government or make it more responsive to taxpayers.

They’re just angry because Taffora, after a year and a half on the job, still doesn’t reside in Milwaukee County. They’re angry because Kerry Mitchell, the county’s director of human resources, granted Taffora a waiver from the county’s residency requirement.

In voting to change the position title for the job currently held by Brian Taffora, the County Board is creating a “new” position that would force County Executive Chris Abele to nominate Taffora for the “new” position, leaving the County Board in the position to decide not to confirm Taffora’s nomination. Even if he were re-confirmed, Taffora would then lose a waiver of Milwaukee County’s residency requirement – a waiver he was granted by the county’s director of human resources in keeping with the county’s residency policies.

So much for the Marina Dimitrijevic era of the Milwaukee County Board being vastly different from the Lee Holloway era…