Wisconsin Democrats are calling for the release of a report on the financial future of Milwaukee County.
Portions of the report drafted by the Greater Milwaukee Committee were published over the weekend in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They indicate Milwaukee County is in dire financial shape and could need massive spending cuts.
Committee officials have decided not to release the report until after the election, which angered Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman Mike Tate on Monday. Tate called it a “secret report” that’s being kept under lock and key.
Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker currently serves as the Milwaukee County Executive and the chairman of his campaign committee also heads the panel working on the report.
Tate says the public has a right to know how Walker’s leadership has impacted the county, and the delay on the report is another example of Walker not filling out important details of the job application as he applies to be governor.
Greater Milwaukee Committee chairman Mike Grebe says the report just isn’t finished yet, and the panel wants to make sure the information doesn’t become just another campaign issue. If that happens, Grebe says it may not be received as effectively as they want it to be.
Grebe says his role as Walker’s campaign committee chair was not a factor in the bi-partisan panel’s decision to hold the report. The other 32 members of the committee also had to agree to delay release of the report.
Grebe is also critical of Democrats for trying to use preliminary findings from the report to attack Walker.
