The Shorewood Village Board had a special meeting regarding the recent sewage backups and flooding.

The meeting was started off with a comment that there was a newspaper article from 1954 that was on the topic of flooding in Shorewood, and what could or should be done about it.

Ironically, the current Village Board Members and Village Administration want to dis-own  responsiblity for not addressing the sewage and flooding issues more aggressively, as they were not in office 10 years ago when the last engineering study was done.  Could it be that when they ran for office, they were ignorant of the sewage and flooding issue?

The consensus of the Board and Administration can be distilled to 1) Doing more studies.  2) Surveying the residents as to whether they have had problems. 3) Establish a level of protection that the village residents can live with.  4) Hiring an engineering firm to conduct studies and surveys and make recommendations (note same engineering firm that has been working on this issue for about the last decade) 5) Hire another engineering firm to look over the shoulder of the first engineering firm.  6) The usual contacting MMSD, other communities, the county, the state, yada, yada, yada. 7) Have the sewage district borrow some money from the general fund and repay it over a period of time.

All of the above are nice things to do --- but in my opinion they have widely missed the mark on the direction they are going in.

A) Part of the proposal is to establish what level of protection the Village Residents are willing to live with.

What kind of question is that?  People have RAW SEWAGE coming INTO their HOMES! 

The correct answer to the Level of Protection is ZERO TOLERANCE FOR SEWAGE COMING INTO HOMES. 

If the Village Officials do not know that we want NO SEWAGE in our homes --- I have to question their common sense and concern for the safety and health of our citizens.

B) So now we are doing another engineering study --- ad nauseum --- to identify the problems.

MMSD has been telling us for years that the Three Main Problems with the Flooding and Sewage Backups are 1) Laterals   2) Laterals   3) Laterals

Broken laterals add to the water going into the sewage system, and they are the means by which sewage backs up into people's homes.

Old School and present practice is that the sewer system is run by the village, but the laterals are privately owned and the responsibility of the property owner.  The problem with this old way of doing things is that homeowners do not have the expertise or resources to identify problems with the laterals, or to install backflow preventers that keep sewage out.

Especially in an older community like Shorewood, virtually all the laterals are the old fashion red clay sewer pipes --- which over the years crack, crumble, and get infiltrated by tree roots.  If you have ever had to call Roto Rooter to come clean out your sewer pipe, you probably have a broken lateral !!!!!

We need a new system, under which the Village takes ownership of the entire sewer system, including the laterals.

C: Money - Money - Money

The Village Sewer District does not collect enough money to be maintained properly.  Just recently the Village Board had to divert money from the Parking District to the sewer District for lack of funds.  (Now the Parking District is short changed for lot snow removal and maintenance).

It was proposed that some money be borrowed from the General Fund, and repaid over time as noted above.

The usual suspects for possibly obtaining grants will be pursued harder --- MMSD, State, Federal, etc.

This however is a Major Problem that needs Major Money.

Sewage coming into homes make property values drop.  So it only makes sense to create a TIF that will pay for the actions that need to be taken for both the general system and the individual laterals. 

The purpose of a TIF is to create something that will increase property values --- as a Real Estate Broker, in my opinion, keeping sewage out of Shorewood houses will increase their value --- Big Time!!

In my previous posting, I mentioned that the Whitefish Bay Government was not perceived to be handling this problem very well, and at their meeting on sewers, pushed the topic off to the side for more studies.  It now appears Shorewood is doing the same.

I encourage both Villages to work together -- as we are joined at the hip ......

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 

WHAT LEVEL OF SEWAGE PROTECTION DO YOU WANT?

SHOULD THE VILLAGE MAINTAIN THE LATERALS?

HOW MANY MORE STUDIES DO WE NEED?

The Whitefish Bay Board had a post sewage flooding meeting on August 16th.

According to reports, the Bay citizens are thoroughly fed up with their elected officials, and Village Manager Grassman, for lack of action in preventing the sewage backups and the lack of direction in preventing future ones.

Shorewood citizens will get their first chance post sewage backups to see what the Shorewood Village Board and the Village Manager are doing to prevent future occurences.

It is already well known that a substantial number, if not the majority of Shorewood citizens, feel the Village Board and the Village Manager have been derelict in addressing the backups, flooding, and sewer problems in Shorewood for over a decade.

The Board Meeting, as announced in the Manager's Memo is as follows:

Having heard many thoughtful suggestions and concerns from residents at the public information meetings, the Village Board will be holding a special meeting on Monday, August 23rd to consider an action plan for potential sewer system facility improvements.  The meeting will be held at 6:30pm at the Village Center.

If you are interested in what the Village Board and Manager are doing to address this problem, be sure to attend the meeting.

Bay residents may also want to attend, as Shorewood and Whitefish Bay are joined at the hip regarding sewers, sewage and flooding.

YOUR THOUGHTS ---- TAKE A MOMENT AND WRITE A COMMENT!

I like many of you had the privilege of having sewer backups in my basement on the 14^th and 22^nd of last month.

I attended the “sewer” meeting in Shorewood last Thursday to learn what the officials from the Village and MMSD intended to do about stopping the raw sewage from coming into people’s homes.

What I learned is that the Village government and the MMSD had nothing new to say --- rather they put on a “dog and pony show” about the history of the sewage backups, and what has been done in the past.

I almost laughed out loud when the Shorewood DPW director went as far back as the 1980’s in regards to recalling the history of the sewage backups.  Obviously this problem is History --- Not News!

The most obvious lesson that I and a hundred or so other citizens learned was that the officials not only do not have any good plans to stop future sewage backups --- but they cannot even agree on what is currently being done.

I brought up the disconnection of downspouts.  Shorewood has fought the disconnection of downspouts for over 12 years that I know of --- and only recently has started to allow them.

This is despite the all the publicity that MMSD has put out that disconnecting downspouts is a very good thing, and takes pressure off the entire system.  Somehow MMSD’s PR Machine did not reach the consciousness of the Shorewood Village officials.

Another thing that MMSD has been promoting are BACKFLOW PREVENTERS!

Not that the MMSD official at last Thursday’s meeting got it right --- he was talking down the backflow preventers, despite his own agency endorsing and even paying for them.

Following are exerts from articles and websites of what MMSD thinks about the Backflow Preventers:

FROM GLENDALE NOW.COM

MMSD could provide funds to prevent sewage backups

Direct connections to interceptor targeted

By MARY BUCKLEY

Posted: July 27, 2010

Glendale — Some homeowners on North Lydell Avenue who had sewer backups in their basement overnight July14 -15 could receive help from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. MMSD has offered to pay for backflow preventers.

City Administrator Richard Maslowski said MMSD is providing funding to municipalities to try to reduce that problem. The money could be used to install backflow preventers and to repair private sewer laterals. Private laterals typically connect buildings to city sewers but in the case of the Lydell homes they connect directly to the interceptor sewer.

Backflow preventers could reduce the risk of raw sewage entering those homes. The preventers cost $1,500 to $3,500.

Private plumbing contractors would be hired to install backflow preventers and work on the private sewer laterals.

FROM THE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Aim now is aid, prevention

Keeping rain from sewer laterals to take years, MMSD says

By Don Behm of the Journal Sentinel

July 26, 2010  

Today's TMJ4

 Storm water flowing into privately owned sanitary sewer pipes quickly fills municipal pipes and the downstream regional collection system, compromising the ability of the publicly owned sewers to carry wastewater flows during downpours, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Executive Director Kevin Shafer said Monday.

"This is overwhelming the sewer systems and causing overflows and basement backups," Shafer said Monday at a meeting of the district's commission. "A long-term program is needed to reduce this volume of water."

Inspections could begin in September and all leaks will be reported to the municipalities, he said. Each city and village will be expected to work with property owners to correct problems by replacing laterals, installing basement backflow preventers or making other improvements, Shafer said.

FROM THE BROWN DEER WEBSITE

Another way the Village has assisted residents in the battle to manage storm water was through Operation Flood Fix, a program funded through a Community Development Block Grant, distributed primarily to low and moderate income households in the Village. Eligible households had flood-proofing improvements made to their houses, such as the installation of glass-block basement windows and back-flow prevention valves installed in their basement floor drains. Approximately 40 households in the Village had benefitted by the end of 2000. The Village obtained over $44,000 in Block Grant funds for this project

FROM CBS 58

Article Author: Kristine Johnson-Sol

Angry after sewage floods basements for three years in a row

MILWAUKEE - Hundreds of angry residents are dealing with the filthy aftermath of basement back-ups and they're now demanding solutions. For folks near 25th and Brown, hauling sewage-soaked belongings tot he curb following a heavy rainfall is becoming a nasty and frustrating summertime ritual.

MMSD budgeted a million dollars for each of the next five years to prevent back-ups by perhaps fixing pipes that run from homes to the street.

"Maybe put a backflow preventer on. That's what this funding is for that we provided to the municipalities for them to work with their residents," said Shafer.

I think the exerts above make it pretty clear that Backflow Preventers can keep sewage from coming into basements.

There are some caveats that have to be addressed:

1)      If only a few residences have the backflow preventers, they will get no sewage, but their neighbors will get more.

2)      It has long been the policy and tradition that the laterals between the houses and the sewage system, including backflow preventers, are the responsibility and expense of the property owners --- refer to #1 above --- we need NEW thinking here.

3)      NEW thinking primarily for the funding of not only Backflow Preventers, but also for all the broken and leaking laterals.  As many Northshore communities --- not just Shorewood --- seem to be able to find Million$ to give to private businesses through TIF’s , in the belief that those expenditures will increase the tax base of their community --- a theory lacking any substantial proof in almost all cases --- just think how much our communities can increase our property values, if we keep raw sewage out of the basements.

TO BE CONTINUED:

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ???

As a result of last weeks big storm, approx 160 houses in Shorewood had raw, filthy sewage back up through the floor drains in their basement.

This wasn't the first time that the antiquated Shorewood sewer system couldn't handle all the rain water and sewage during a big storm -- and unless Shorewood's goverment does something about it -- it certainly won't be the last.

Unfortunately, the priorites for the Shorewood Government has been on spending lots of money on streetscaping, and providing money to businesses to either move to Shorewood, or relocate within Shorewood.  We are talking Millions of Dollars .........

The Shorewood Village Board, the CDA, the Village Manager, and the BID all tell us that they are spending all this money to make Shorewood more attractive to families, and to help raise property values.

As they have not figured it out yet for themselves --- let me give them a little hint that RAW SEWAGE COMING INTO FAMILY HOMES DOES NOT MAKE SHOREWOOD PROPERTIES MORE DESIRABLE!

What IS Shorewood spending its money on ????????

According to Tom Kertscher, Journal Sentinel, on May18, 2010 :

"Shorewood

- The Village Board has approved more than $526,000 in grants to help retailers at two developments.

Matthew Laughrin, who ran a drug house in Whitefish Bay, where Maddie Kiefer got some of the drugs that killed her, was just sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Maddie Kiefer’s death from a drug overdose may have been inevitable, sooner or later.  But there were several aspects that woulda, coulda, shoulda been handled differently, that might have changed the tragic outcome it came to.

 Drug use by teens in the Northshore Suburbs has been around for the past 40 years that I know of.  But 40 years ago, it was mostly marijuana and beer, and possibly some hallucinogens.  Hard drugs like cocaine and heroin were looked down at by the teens then, in some ways they were better educated about the dangers of what were then considered ghetto drugs.

Over the past few years, however, ghetto drugs have come to the suburbs.  Once unheard of deaths from heroin and other hard drug overdoses, are now all too common, in every community.

What has not changed, however, are the resources that the various police departments have to combat this new problem. 

Ironically  if a bunch of teens are having a late night party with alcohol, if becomes a major enforcement action for the police.  Forty years ago, there wasn’t that kind of reaction unless there was an all out brawl going on.  Back then the drinking age was 18 and police thought they had higher priorities than dispatching 5 squads to chase teenagers into the night.

The new problem with hard drugs in the suburbs is that it is not as easy to find a drug dealer, as it is to find a bunch of teens at a late night party.  It takes different skills and techniques, and it takes more manpower.

In an interview with Whitefish Bay police chief Jacobs with blogger Kevin Buckley (4/15/09), Buckley said “I’ve heard from many people, who have decried police priorities, suggesting instead of having squads catching speeders, they should have been parked outside Laughrin’s house”

Chief Jacobs responded “But my first year in WFB, people said the PD wasn’t taking traffic and pedestrian safety seriously, and to put more emphasis on that.  You try to make best use of resources, but there will always be people who suggest you shouldn’t be doing this, do that instead”.

In my opinion, Chief Jacobs is exactly on target when he refers to limits because of  the resources that are available. 

The questions are whether we  are using all the resources we can?  Can we make more resources available? Can we do so more efficiently and without a huge increase in costs?

The answer is YES – we can create more and better police resources.  We can use them more efficiently, and we can do so without incurring a huge increase in costs, and probably even do so with a decrease in overall costs.

But ONLY if the Northshore Suburbs come to the realization that they need to WORK TOGETHER …….. And ONLY if our elected and appointed officials STOP DEFENDING THEIR TURF!

I you take the following population of the 6 following suburbs (Bayside 4232, Brown Deer 12170, Fox Point 7012, Glendale 13367, and Whitefish Bay 13508) you have a total of only 50, 289 residents! 

That is only slightly more than Wauwatosa with 47,791.

Yet Wauwatosa has one police force.

Our 6 Northshore Suburbs  have 6 police chiefs, 6 police stations, 6 lockups, 6 fleets of squads, 6 trainers, etc., etc ………..

Maybe more importantly, is that the 6 Northshore Suburbs have (depending upon how you count them) at least 9 different municipal boundaries to deal with.  And as we have seen, crime like the spread of hard drugs, does not respect boundaries.

If there was a Northshore Police Department, without adding any additional personnel, there could be a Drug Unit, which could concentrate resources on known drug houses, such as the one that Matthew Laughrin ran in Whitefish Bay, where Maddie Kiefer got some of the drugs that killed her.

We could have a larger Detective Bureau, that could concentrate more on crimes like identity theft, and have personnel trained in specialty areas, such as homicide.

Traffic enforcement resources could actually be enlarged, and areas of concern could be targeted with saturation patrols.

And more personnel could be put on the streets for true Community Policing.

The World is constantly changing --- Smart People Know How to Adapt to that Change in a Positive Way. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  YOUR COMMENTS, BOTH PRO AND CON ARE WELCOME!

Following is what some of the experts think of the Present Commercial RE Market -- and What the Future Portends:

If There's A Bottom In Sight For Commercial Real Estate, We Can't See It

Keith Jurow, Real Estate Channel | Jun. 30, 2010, 8:54 AM | 4,947 | 16

In the last 18 months, the commercial real estate market has seriously deteriorated. Yet many analysts are hopeful that the worst is over and that pressure on property owners will begin to ease. Let's take an in-depth look at whether their optimism is justified.

Early 2007: The Perfect Calm

Charles Dickens began his classic, A Tale of Two Cities with the famous opening "It was the best of times ..."  That was the tone of the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) January 2007 assessment of the commercial market which was entitled "The Perfect Calm."  Indeed, everything looked calm and promising to the MBA. 

Record amounts of investor money were pouring into the market.  Delinquency rates had dropped to only 1% of all commercial real estate loans, down from the heart-stopping rate of 12% in 1991 after the S & L collapse of the late 1980s.  The author of this MBA review could find little on the horizon that warranted concern except for possible overbuilding by optimistic developers.

Although the residential subprime market collapsed only three months after this report appeared, this had little effect on the commercial real estate market. For the rest of 2007, investors continued to bid on just about anything that hit the market at prices that defied traditional standards.  A record $522 billion in sales transactions were closed that year according to Real Capital Analytics.  The chart below shows how purchases skyrocketed from 2001 to 2007.

The Blackstone Group, perhaps the nation's leading real estate management and advisory firm, wisely sold off $60 billion of its holdings during the market peak of 2005-2007.  Yet even it was subject to excessive exuberance, purchasing the Hilton Hotels empire in October 2007 for a whopping $26 billion.  That was 40% more than the stock market valued the common shares at the time.

It Was Quite a Party While the Lending Flowed

The previous commercial real estate boom in the 1980s was characterized by massive overbuilding fed by easy money from the S & Ls and commercial banks.  Total office market space actually doubled in the 1980s by the time the boom collapsed.  The market was saved from total ruin only by Congress's creation of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) which took over the assets of failed S & Ls and sold them off in bulk often for pennies on the dollar.  It cost the taxpayers $157 billion according to the Congressional Oversight Committee's February 2010 report on the state of the commercial real estate market.

The lesson was clear: When threatened with a potential systemic failure, the federal government would bail out surviving financial institutions and all their insured depositors.  No need for depositors to exercise any prudence as to where they put their money.

Like its residential counterpart, the commercial real estate bubble of 2004-2007 was a buying binge fed by a seemingly inexhaustible supply of mortgage funds.  Most of the lending was provided by two sources - the commercial banks and institutional investors who purchased commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). 

Since the late 1990s, small and mid-sized banks have drifted away from their traditional role as short-term lender to commercial developers.  Over the last dozen years, these banks gorged themselves on commercial real estate mortgages and became the primary lenders in this market.  According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), banks with assets between $100 million and $10 billion held 36% of their total assets in commercial real estate loans at the end of the first quarter 2010.  Half of their total loan portfolio was in commercial mortgages. 

Between 2000 and 2004, CMBS lending averaged $70 billion annually according to the real estate law firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi.  Then it took off in 2005 and peaked at $248 billion in 2007.

Underwriting standards went out the window.  According to the Congressional Oversight Committee report cited earlier, during the peak bubble years of 2006-2007, nearly 90% of CMBS loans were either interest-only or partial interest (negative amortization).  Many of the deals required little down payment.  As prices soared, lenders justified their actions by assuming that rising rents would continue indefinitely.

The Office Market in 2009

In the largest commercial sector -- the office market -- the statistics didn't seem right to the CoStar Group in April 2009.  Millions of jobs had been shed since the recession began, but the vacancy rate had not gone above 12.5%.  Then Mark Heschmeyer, their chief analyst, published an article entitled "Has the Office Vacancy Rate Become Irrelevant?"  In it, he quoted the firm's CEO, Andrew Florance, who put it bluntly: "Never has a vacancy rate chart been more useless in commercial real estate than right now."

Florance went on to elaborate: "Based upon the job losses we've seen to date, we should be seeing something on the order of 450 million square feet of negative absorption compared to the negative 20 [million] we've actually experienced."

The firm's conclusion was that there was an enormous "hidden supply" of available space which had not been listed on the market.  Some of the key reasons for this were:

• Established tenants were still hopeful about being able to rehire laid off staff.
• Major tenants such as those in the financial services industry were fighting bigger fires and were not focusing on a few million dollars in underutilized space.
• Smaller and mid-sized tenants were worried that putting their unused space up for sublease might send an impression that they were not financially stable.
• Lenders were not forcing the issue of recognizing unoccupied space as long as owners were still collecting rents and making loan payments.

Their conclusion was that a 1,100 basis point spread existed between the official vacancy rate and the actual percentage of available space.  In other words, the percentage of total available space was not 12.5% but 23.5% of all office space.  An incredible and frightening number!

CoStar found that in the 15 largest office markets, leasing activity had plunged by an average of 46% from a year earlier.  With fewer deals being done, the average time between a space being listed on the market and a signed lease had soared from 270 days at the start of 2006 to 415 days in the first quarter of 2009.

Furthermore, office building prices had collapsed in early 2009.  Class A space was down 21% from the previous quarter and by an average of 51% from the peak in early 2008.  Class B space had fared even worse - down 40% in the first quarter and 55% from the third quarter 2008 peak.  

A good example of the unreality that CoStar had found so frustrating was an announcement by Morgan Stanley in December 2009.  Bloomberg reported that Morgan Stanley's real estate division, which had spent $8 billion to purchase properties at the peak in 2007, planned to "relinquish" five San Francisco office buildings to its two lenders after having purchased them two years earlier from the Blackstone Group.  One analyst estimated that the properties had lost half their value since having been bought as a result of a 37% plunge in prime office rents in the third quarter from a year earlier. 

The Bloomberg author explained that Morgan Stanley had been negotiating an "orderly transfer" since early 2009.  A Morgan Stanley spokeswoman took pains to explain that "This isn't a default or foreclosure situation."  Really?  What was it, then?  A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure?

The Commercial Banks - A Policy of Extend and Pretend

As their commercial mortgage loan portfolio deteriorated, the banks have been extremely reluctant to foreclose on delinquent borrowers.  Instead, they have chosen the route of extending loans as they matured with the hope that the market would improve.  This policy was derisively called "extend and pretend."  The banks were taking their cue from the FDIC which had adopted a policy in October 2009 that supported what it called "prudent commercial real estate loan workouts."  The FDIC certainly did not want to take on the added burden of massive commercial loan defaults which so many mid-sized banks were facing.

By the end of 2009, all commercial banks and thrifts combined had charged off a mere $11 billion of commercial mortgages in the preceding two years according to FDIC figures.  However, a growing number of community banks were failing in 2010 due largely to their commercial real estate loan portfolio.  The FDIC has already closed 86 banks as of June 25.  The five banks shut down in Florida, Nevada and California on June 18 had eighty per cent of their non-performing loans in commercial real estate.

A few months later, an August 2009 Wall Street Journal headline warned that "Commercial Real Estate Lurks as Next Potential Mortgage Crisis."  The authors pointed out that banks held a total of $1.7 trillion in commercial real estate loans.  By way of comparison, at the height of the last commercial crisis in 1992, banks held roughly $400 billion of these loans. 

The Current Commercial Real Estate Market

Although the Obama Administration has continued to assert that the economic recovery is on track, the most recent statistics for the commercial real estate market cast serious doubts on that premise.

In early May 2010, the real estate data firm Trepp reported that the 60 day delinquency rate in April for CMBS hit a record 7% up from only 1.8% in April 2009.  Topping the delinquency list were the lodging sector with 17.1% of loans at least 30 days delinquent and multi-family residences with a 30-day delinquency of 13.1%.

That same month, the research firm Realpoint issued its latest report for April which showed that the total outstanding CMBS delinquent loan figure had more than tripled in the last 12 months to $54.6 billion.  The chart below shows how this amount has steadily skyrocketed.

It was not surprising to learn that 80% of these delinquent loans were securitized between 2005 and 2007.  Loans that were liquidated in April were resolved at an average loss to the lender of 52%. 

In the first quarter of this year, office vacancy rates climbed to 17.2% according to real estate data provider Reis Inc.  As CoStar pointed out in the April 2009 article cited earlier, the available space was considerably higher.  Effective rents were down an average of 7.4% from a year earlier.

Real Capital Analytics tracks distressed commercial real estate figures which are broader than simply delinquent loans.  It calls this universe "Troubled Assets."  In addition to delinquent or defaulted loans, it also includes loans in the process of foreclosure, loans where the owner is under financial pressure, loans where the owner has declared bankruptcy, and loans where a key tenant has declared bankruptcy which could affect the ability of the owner to service its debt.

Their latest figure for total Troubled Assets is $150.2 billion.  Adding in the $31.9 billion in loans where the lender has foreclosed and taken back the property, the total figure for distressed loans is $182.1 billion.

No One Wants to Catch a Falling Knife

In mid-June, CoStar's Mark Heschmeyer published a comprehensive review of the nation's commercial real estate market.  He emphasized that the damage to major metro markets varied widely.

Hardest hit were Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa and Atlanta where distressed property sales accounted for 27-44% of all transactions.  Nationwide, nearly 19% of all office transactions from early 2009 through March 2010 were distressed sales which were heavily concentrated in the suburbs.

Heschmeyer then turned to reports on specific markets from professionals in the field.  The managing director of brokerage firm NAI Global reported that various sectors of Manhattan commercial property had plunged 40-60% from the peak years and sales activity had also plummeted.  A commercial land buyer in Dallas lamented that investment funds which had been created to pick up distressed property  - primarily REITs and hedge funds - were all over the place, bidding up prices and "not letting assets hit bottom."

The Florida situation was so grim that the president of one troubled asset firm believed the general consensus to be that distressed properties would account for a majority of transactions for the next 3-5 years.  A Philadelphia professional lamented that "properties are distressed because there are no tenants to lease up vacant space."  In San Diego, the number of defaults filed this year was running at a pace more than ten times greater than a year earlier.

One sarcastic pro from Arizona quipped that "It looks like we have reached the bottom, unless we find a new bottom."

Another seasoned veteran of real estate cycles in Tempe, Arizona perhaps summed up best the attitude of market participants:  "No one wants to catch a falling knife."   

Commercial Mortgage Loans Coming Due - A Ticking Time Bomb

William Hoffman is the CEO of Trigild, a non-performing loan specialist firm. In a telephone conversation with this REAL ESTATE CHANNEL author, he pointed out that although lenders do not want to foreclose, there is no other way to work out underwater loans that are coming due in the next two or three years.  His view was that lenders will not want to refinance properties that have dropped 30-40% in value.  The chart below aptly illustrates the ticking time bomb that awaits both underwater owners and lenders.

If there is a bottom on the horizon for commercial real estate, it is very difficult to see from this chart.  Perhaps it is time to batten down the hatches.

EvilBuzzard on Jun 30, 9:08 AM said:

Detroit, MI defines the bottom for US real estate. When you hear the bulldozers grinding in the background and see less and less of the old neighborhood standing after each passing day, you've hit bottom for American real estate.

Savonarola on Jun 30, 9:17 AM said:

Whenever the commercial RE market hits a low, a new construction boom begins.

That's what they teach at the Harvard Business School.

Stroke on Jun 30, 10:09 AM said:

@Savonarola:

Harvard Business School had better begin to teach "The New Normal"....'Cause We're not in Kansas anymore.

Stroke on Jun 30, 10:12 AM said:

@Savonarola:

Harvard Business School had better begin teaching "The New Normal".....'Cause we're not in Kansas anymore.

John2 on Jun 30, 10:22 AM said:

I guess the regional banks here in FL dont want to realize the loss (which would close them down most likely) so you just see all these mostly empty hotels and business buildings being allowed to stay in business without a foreclosure being done even though they quit making their payments on the property a long time ago.

blutown on Jun 30, 10:24 AM said:

A leading retail consultant said last year that the U.S. has about 21 sf of retail per capita. The next highest country is under 3 sf per capita. He said a safe bet for the U.S. is around 10 sf per capita. That means that half of all retail space will need to exit the market.

It is really difficult right now to see where things are based on vacancy rates (one of the traditional metrics) because a lot of space is not being reported as vacant in much the same way that shadow inventory is masking the true picture of the residential market. If you are a CRE investor, do you homework!!!

Buzz Gross on Jun 30, 10:49 AM said:

The bottom line is you can only mess with the supply/demand equation for a while. Ultimately the markets will punish you for ignoring it. There is nothing sustainable that the government can do for this market. In many parts of the country It is toast for at least another decade.

anonymous on Jun 30, 11:08 AM said:

How do you reconcile this:

A commercial land buyer in Dallas lamented that investment funds which had been created to pick up distressed property - primarily REITs and hedge funds - were all over the place, bidding up prices and "not letting assets hit bottom."

with this:

Another seasoned veteran of real estate cycles in Tempe, Arizona perhaps summed up best the attitude of market participants: "No one wants to catch a falling knife."

EvilBuzzard on Jun 30, 1:37 PM said:

@anonymous:

1) Texas never inflated as much.

2) Texas' economy exogenis to real estate didn't crater to the same extent as AZs.

3) People think TX is more likely to pull out of this 10-15 years hence than AZ.

JGBHimself on Jun 30, 4:08 PM said:

Kieth, here in SE Phoenix there are five completed corner office complexes within two miles of me, that have not had even ONE (1) tenant since we arrived down here three years ago. They all still have rental signs out there, none have been foreclosed on, yet. Why? Bcuz they cannot be rented, at any price; and they cannot be sold for what it cost to build them, so who would want to take them back - what would THEY do with them.
God only know what they were/are smoking, or where they got it.

Greg Schenk SIOR 2010 NAR RCA Signature Series Speaker (URL) on Jul 8, 4:35 PM said:

we have seen this coming . Greed in a lot of areas
Everyone needs a good strategic plan from the individual investor, small tenant , large tenant and large investor group
the days of free wheeling are gone
more due diligence and knowledge is needed now more than ever!
We can show you the way!

JW Najarian on Jul 9, 6:06 PM said:

Horay for the Truth

Just wrote a blog on CRE Distressed Assets Assoc. site www.credaa.com The Real Estate Market Continues to Blow Big Chunks

It is so tiring reading about the economy turning around for the better... On what planet?

Also did a Podcast with Peter O'Kane, 20 year vet of CRE banking industry, from Roanoke Financial Group in Seattle, on Bank Failures and the Opportunities They Present We talk about the new normal and similiar issues. Also in a recent RealData blog from George Blackburne III, the founder of C-Loan, he talks about having to submit to 30 or more lenders to get a possibility of of a loan!

The industry is also talking about hard money as the new key to getting money. This will work with a good deal if you can find one, but doesn't hard money need an exit strategy like a sale for at least even money or the possibility of a refi?

Congrats on the story. It is time for the industry to come out of the 2nd stage of grief... Denial and move on to anger and getting off our collective butts to collaborate in grass roots efforts to MAKE deals as they are not just going to show up on our doorstep anymore.

Looking at the responses I received to my previous post "Crying in His Custard", I thought the "Lower Taxes-Smartass" exchange between Vice President Joe Biden, and Kopp's Manager Scott Borkin, deserved a little more analysis (very little).

What if we changed the players just a little bit.  We will leave Scott Borkin in as Kopp's Manager --- but we will construct 4 different scenarios, substituting the Vice President with Non Political figures.

SCENARIOS

1) An ER Doctor comes into Kopp's to enjoy a cone, when he asks what he owes ---

The manager says "Don't worry, it's on the house, just lower your fees from $880 an hour, and we'll call it even".

2) Some employees from an International Staffing Company come in for lunch, they ask what they owe -

The manager says "Don't worry, it's on the house, just stop helping companies to outsource work and helping to bring in foreign workers for hi tech jobs, and we'll call it even".

3) An automobile mechanic from a foreign car company comes in for takeout for the techs at work and asks what he owes ---

The manager says "Don't worry, it's on the house, just lower your fees from $125 an hour, and we'll call it even".

4) Joe the plumber (no not that Joe, just a regular Milwaukee area plumber) comes in and has a double cheese burger, fries, coke and cone (his wife would kill him if she knew) and asks what he owes --

The manager says "Don't worry, it's on the house, just lower your fees from a $30 service call and $180 per hour when you come to service my hot water heater, and we'll call it even".

Hopefully the scenarios above will better convey what I was trying to say in my original posting.

Think about yourselves --- when you go into a Service Business --- do you want to be treated like a Guest -- or get a Smartass comment about what you do for a living, or how much you earn or charge.

I would think that most anyone would be irritated to say the least --- and I doubt you would go back to that establishment.

Once the "Exchange" happened --- Borkin and Kopp's could have let the issue die.  After all, they Diss'd the VP, instead of treating him like a Guest --- especially a Guest who was bringing them publicity beyond what they could ever buy.

Now the publicity they have established for themselves, is that they do not know how to treat a Guest, that they favor Republican politics, that they think they are an Icon that can thrive no matter how they treat their Guests, and that they reveled in continuing the Faux Pas's by travelling to Chicago to be on Fox News!

Hey --- why not give it a try --- go to Kopp's and tell them what you do for a living, how much you earn, how much you charge, and what your politics are.  If you aren't Diss'd ----- Enjoy Your Custard .......

YOUR COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME !

Breaking News --- Joe Biden often says things off the cuff ---- Surprise, Surprise!!

Biden’s latest faux pas was when he and Senator Feingold made a PR/Photo-op visit at Kopp’s Custard stand in Glendale.

According to  Amy Hetzner, in her Journal Sentinel article:

When Biden asked how much he owed for the custard, manager Scott Borkin  said to Biden “Don't worry, it's on the house, lower our taxes and we'll call it even."

Nothing too offensive, but not a great show of hospitality to someone famous who comes to your shop and gives you a ton of free publicity.

Later Biden retorted to Borkin "Why don't you say something nice instead of being a smartass all the time."

 For the Vice President of the United States, probably not the best or  most clever retort, and although Borkin was being a “smartass”,  Biden could have used more judicious language to get his point across.

I do wonder why Biden said “all the time”?  Did he talk with Bordin prior to this exchange?

Of course, once it was in the media, it has gotten tremendous publicity.

Bordin enjoying his 15 minutes of fame told Hetzner that “his phone has been ringing and his Facebook page has filled with comments and Monday morning, he's planning to head to Chicago to appear on the Fox News Network's "Fox & Friends" program.

Biden later whispered to Borkin, "I was just kidding," Borkin said, but the store manager was still surprised by the vice president's reaction.

Bordin seemed to be playing both sides of the issue, with his comments that:

"It was all just in fun," said Borkin, who called himself a Republican. "I was stating just a fact that everyone in America, Republican or Democrat, wants lower taxes."

He also said in contradiction:

"It didn't seem right, especially from someone in his position,"

Borkin also mentioned that “six years ago former Vice President Dick Cheney also visited the custard stand”.

As there are no quotes from that visit, I wonder if  Borkin did not think it appropriate to “tweak” the celebrity guest --- or maybe Cheney’s reputation with a shotgun made him think twice of  dishing over more than just custard.

Most interesting to me of this whole ordeal, is that Borkin  is relishing in the attention of having a political agenda, and using it on a Kopp’s customer, instead of just taking a neutral position like “ very nice man, and really no comment other than that”.

Just the opposite, Borkin  seems to think that keeping this issue alive is somehow going to help Kopp’s, as he is quoted saying:

"We're Kopp's; we're an icon," said Borkin, who started working for the company when he was 14, making malts and shakes. "Famous people have stopped in We're the first place they stop and the last . . throughout the years. . place they stop before they leave."

Well --- Maybe not so much in the future!

Politicians and Celebrities may think twice about going to Kopp’s if they think they might get “dissed” ……… and Democrats in the area might not like patronizing a custard stand that has a Republican agenda.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Celebrity visit to a custard stand is at Leon’s or Gillies.  They are ICONS too!

AS ALWAYS, YOUR OPINIONS ARE WELCOME.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge John Siefert doesn’t think Judges should be Non-Partisan, and he wants Judges to Come Out of the Closet in Regards to Their Politics.

Until recently, Wisconsin’s Code of Judicial Conduct prohibited Judges, or candidates for Judgeship to announce their political party membership, endorse partisan candidates or personally solicit campaign contributions.

Judge Siefert sued the Wisconsin Judicial Commission in Federal Court and won the first round of the battle in 2009 in a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb. . As noted by an article in the Journal Sentinel posted Feb 18, 2009:

“Wisconsin judges can join political parties, solicit campaign donations and endorse partisan candidates, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge John Siefert - a Democratic Party activist until his election to the bench in 1997 - filed a lawsuit last year claiming Wisconsin Judicial Commission rules banning judicial political involvement were unconstitutional. He applauded the decision as a victory for the public.

His lawsuit claimed the rules were an infringement on his First Amendment right to free speech. “

In the Second round of Siefert’s battle, two of the three points he won in Judge Crabb’s court were overturned by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

As noted in Judge John DiMotto’s blog, Bench and Bar Experiences posting on June 15, 2010:

“Yesterday, in a 2-1 decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part Judge Crabb's decision in Seifert v. Alexander. The Court held:

1) The ban on a judge joining a political party was unconstitutional.

2) The ban on a judge endorsing a candidate in a partisan election was constitutional.

3) The ban on a judge directly soliciting campaign contributions was constitutional.”

So in effect, Judges MAY belong to a political party, but are Prohibited from Endorsing in a Partisan Election, or Directly Soliciting Campaign Contributions.

Judge DiMotto also noted that for him personally: “While this ruling allows judges to join political parties, I do not intend to do so. I believe that the ban on joining a political party serves the public and I ran for judge 20 years ago to serve the public.”

For me personally, I hold both Judges Siefert and DiMotto in High Regard. I think they are two of the best examples of hard working, conscientious and ethical judges that we have, and they both have a high regard for both the parties before them, and the law.

Two GOOD people who happen to disagree – It Happens!

IN THE REAL WORLD:

I have been to both Democratic Party and Republican Party meetings at which candidates running in judicial elections, and judges seeking re-election have spoken.

Their remarks, whether in front of a Democratic or Republican Group follow the same pattern. 

On the one hand, they say that they cannot talk about any issues, as they may have to rule on them in the future, when they are on the bench. And they declare that as a candidate for a judgeship, they are not allowed to belong to a political party, or endorse a political party.

Yet invariably, out come the stories that leave No Doubt as to which political sentiments they have ………..

I remember one candidate talking fondly about how he first became aware of public service by becoming active in (Young Dems – Young Reps), working for candidates, delivering yard signs, doing lit drops etc. 

Of course, if someone would happen to mistakenly think that candidate was all but shouting out that he was aligned with the political group assembled --- they would be absolutely right.

Think about it --- the old rule that Judicial Candidates could not belong to a political party, gave them the perfect cover to stonewall those who they do not agree with and who would like to document the political persuasion that the candidate is coming from --- and yet (wink, wink) they made it perfectly clear to the political activists of whichever party they really support that they were on their side.

It is Not just by accident that political parties openly support one judicial candidate over the other --- even though they are supposedly “non-partisan” elections.

The same campaign scenario is also played out in front of Issue Oriented Groups, such as those Opposed to Abortion and those in Favor of Abortion. The candidates who continually assert that they cannot comment on Issues that may come before the court, manage to make their Positions on Issues like Abortion very well known to the Side they are on.

 It is important for them to make Alliances with Issue and Political Groups, in order to get their Financial Support.

In the Gableman (Republican supported) Butler (Democrat supported) race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court --- outsider spending was crucial for both candidates:

According to the website Judgepedia :

 “Spending by independent groups

The campaign has been marked by high levels of spending from independent groups, compared to the amounts that each candidate is spending through his own campaign committee. A report issued on March 26 showed that more than $2,000,000 has been spent by independent groups who have no contribution limits or legal duty to disclose donors. The independent groups supporting both sides in the race have cumulatively spent more than nine times as much on television ads as the candidates have themselves.^[21]

Independent groups include the Greater Wisconsin Committee (GWC) supporting Butler. GWC spent $603,000 through March 24. Meanwhile, the Club for Growth, the Coalition for America’s Families and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce had cumulatively spent $1.2 million through the same date supporting Gableman.^[22] WEAC, the state's largest teacher's union, entered the fray with a TV ad buy in late March.^[23] The political action arm of the National Rifle Association spent $73,000 on pro-Gableman mailings.^[24] “

THE REAL HIDDEN CONSTITUENCY

Although Judge Siefert has so far won the right to publicly have a Political Party affiliation, the other two issues were reversed for now:

2) The ban on a judge endorsing a candidate in a partisan election.

3) The ban on a judge directly soliciting campaign contributions.

I think the ban on endorsing candidates in partisan elections is illogical since judges can now belong to a political party, their political views are already known. Not allowing them to make an endorsement, would seem to be a denial of their Freedom of Speech,. And although I think it is wrong, in the overall picture, it probably won’t  affect public at large, or those appearing before the court.

The ban on a judge directly soliciting campaign contributions however, is an Insidious Assault on non-biased treatment of those appearing before the court --- as it affects the very heart of Fairness.

 Every Judge of course has a Personal Opinion on every Issue --- and whether spoken or silent, every Judge has a Political Philosophy. Those Opinions and Philosophies will always be present, but they do not Directly Relate to the Livelihood of the Judicial Candidate. 

A Democrat appearing before a Judge who happens to be a Republican, would reasonably expect that the Judge will not take his or her political persuasion into account in their opinion. Not to say that it has never happened, as some very Predominantly Political Cases seemed to have been prejudicially decided by Ideological Judges.

But in the case of Raising Funds for one’s own Election --- this is a very Personal Matter, as a Candidate for the Bench MUST have Funds to Run a Campaign.

As the Rules PROHIBIT a Candidate for the Bench in Raising Funds – that means a Third Party must take the reins, organize a Fund Raising Committee, hold Fund Raisers, Make Appeals for Money, and provide the “grease” of American Elections --- MONEY.

Due to this Rule --- virtually all Money Raised for Judicial Candidates is done by Lawyers! And the Money Trail shows that the Group that is most Solicited for Contributions to Judicial Candidates, are also Lawyers!

Forcing Judicial Candidates to Rely on Lawyers to Raise and Contribute the Money they need for their Campaigns, sets up the Mother of All Conflicts of Interest.

The very Lawyers that appear in front of a Judge --- are the ones who either helped put the Judge on the Bench --- or at the very least, will be someone the Judge who could help the Judge, when re-election time comes, as the Judge cannot Legally Raise the Money Himself or Herself.

In addition, when it comes to Small Claims Court, is the Judge going to give Preference to the Party who is Represented by an Attorney, over the Party Appearing for Themselves (pro se)? 

(Note that Judge Siefert is presently on the Small Claims Court and I believe he does not show such bias)

In a future posting, I would like to go deeper into the workings of our court system, in regards to the treatment of the citizenry by the Courts and the Judges. But that is a subject which would take up too much room here --- or probably in any one posting.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? MAKE JUDICIAL RACES POLITICAL? ALLOW JUDICIAL CANDIDATES TO RAISE MONEY FOR THEIR OWN RACES?

YOU BE THE JUROR AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU DECIDE!

This Memorial Day Weekend will consist of many parades and flag waving throughout our Country. 

I have also put up the American Flag, as a Symbol of Honoring Those who have Suffered Through War --- not as a Sign of Nationalism or to Glorify War, but as a Sign of Remembrance and Respect to Those Who Suffered for the Good they Believed In.

Virtually every Veteran I have known who served in War, has said We Must Remember that War is all about Suffering, Death and Destruction. 

A True Soldier does not look forward to Battle --- A True Soldier does His or Her Job, in Hope of Ending the Need for Future Battles.

Like Them We should Remember that War is Never Good --- while We Regretfully Recognize that War is sometimes Necessary.

Included in our Remembrance and Respect to Those Who have Fallen and Suffered, we must Never Forget the Civilians --- Men, Women and Children --- the Casualties of War are not just the Fallen Soldiers, for in virtually every War, there are far more Casualties among Those Who Do Not Bear Arms.

We must Not Only Remember Those Buried in the National Cemeteries with Honors --- but Also Those Countless and Nameless Who are Buried in Mass Graves --- Forgotten.

Let us Not Forget the Lessons of Wars of the Past and Present during the other 364 days of the year.  History Repeats Itself, Only Because We Too Often Choose Not to Remember the Lessons That So Many Gave Their Lives and Souls For.

My wife has just about finished her shopping for plants and materials for the yard and gardens, and has found a true gem at Webers Greenhouses on the west side of Green Bay Road, just a couple blocks north of Capitol Drive.

I asked her to write a few words about them, and here is what she had to say:

"One of the cities best kept secrets is Weber's Green Houses

I had the pleasure of visiting Weber's twice.  Their plant stock is
remarkable!  It's healthy & lush.  Prices are reasonable.  The people are
friendly and knowledgeable.

Actually met one of the original Weber family members, a nice older
gentleman.  Seems now the business is in the capable hands of a fellow
named Franz (I think).

All in all a sigh of relief from the big box store crowds, congestion"

Its nice to be able to patronize a local business, help our local economy, and reward small business owners for their hard work.

Give them a try --- and say Debbie T sent you !

Webers Green Houses

4215 North Green Bay Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53209-7021 --- (414) 264-6280

While driving on the freeway recently, I spotted an auto with two very prominent bumper stickers.

One said "Fire Nancy Pelosi"

The other one said "Drill Baby Drill"

I am going to go out on a limb here, and guess the person who owns that car is a Tea Bagger, who is expressing a couple of the two most common opinions of the loosely associated group that describes itself as the Tea Party.

That the Tea Party People would want to fire Nancy Pelosi is kind of a "no brainer" -- they are opposed to almost every agenda item she has helped put forth or pass.

As for the "Drill Baby Drill"  (in spite of the oil pouring out of the Gulf towards pristine shores) I believe the original motivation for that sentiment is that the United States should not be dependent upon 'Foreign" oil.

Foreign oil of course messes up our balance of trade, as we are importing rather than exporting. 

It hurts our American business who would like a more predictable cost of oil and its related products.

I takes away American jobs --- all the workmen necessary to run the rigs and do the drilling.

Lastly it adds to our federal debt, and increases the amounts of money we owe to foreigners, especially China, who buy our bonds, so we buy their exports.

Yes, I get all that about the sentiment of wanting to Drill for Good American Oil ...... renowned speaker, foreign trade  and energy expert, Sarah Palin has led many Tea Party chants encouraging us to "Drill American".

What I don't get about the particular Tea Party messenger I saw driving down the road, was that he was driving a Hyundai !!!!!!!

In the words of Bill O'Reilly ----- does that make him a "Patriot" or a "Pinhead" ?

The news from Harley Davidson lately seems to indicate that Harley, under new leadership, has totally lost its way, and may well be on its Last Ride.

First of all, Harley is not a Motorcycle --- it is an Image, a Dream, an Ideal, a Lifestyle --- and one of the best examples of Branding ever.

Coke and Harley may just be the two best known Brands in the World.  As for Coke, it once tried to make a change, and they almost lost it! 

OK --- Harley has been on a good ride until the last couple of years.  Baby Boomers as they aged came up with enough expendable income to Buy that IMAGE …. it also helped that they could pull a bunch of equity out of their over appraised houses to buy that DREAM.

And it was not just the Bikes --- Harley Merchandise was selling at close to $100 Million a year!  Folks who loved the ALURE of Harley so much, that they spent 4 times more for a shirt, hat, belt buckle or jacket --- just because it had the Harley Name and Logo on it.

Harley represented AMERICAN FREEDOM --- roaring down the highway with a bunch of buddies (HOGS) – wind in the hair (bugs in the teeth!), often going nowhere further than the next drinking hole.

But Harley was even more than the symbol of American Freedom --- it was an EQUALIZER --- whether you were a Welder, a Plumber, or a Physics Professor, the Harley Club embraced all Equally.

Harley also represented a SENSE OF PRIDE in AMERICAN MADE!  This was a Bike made in America, with well paid UNION WORKERS, who took PRIDE in building the BEST DAMN BIKE IN THE WORLD.

And a little of the BAD BOY IMAGE did not hurt either!      Every Walter Mitty with a black leather jacket sitting on a Harley saw himself as Marlon Brando in The Wild One.

So What Now?

Baby Boomers as they age are more concerned with the price of a Hip Replacement, than getting on a motorcycle.

Those who still have the inclination for a bike, are going to be more concerned about the Price than the Image, and the collapse of the housing market has turned off the 2^nd mortgage financing of Senior Dreams.

Harley has a very tricky situation to deal with --- it has to maintain its loyal base (Boomers) and it has to tap into the younger markets, the X’rs, the Y’rs and all the other ‘rs ……….

When you see a Harley on the road, the rider more often has either white hair or no hair.

The younger riders are the ones flying by on the crotch rockets --- with their heads leaning forward and their feet way behind.

Other young riders are attracted to what they consider the more technologically advanced bikes like BMW – and they is quite a Scooter crowd building – not your grandma’s scooter, but get up and go Piaggio’s  that are easy to maneuver in the city, but have no problem doing 70 mph on the highway – the larger ones are even comfortable for touring.

With the wild success that Harley had in the mid- 2000’s, it forgot about the bottom line, and raised their overhead costs to unsustainable levels, once the market cooled. 

Harley’s dealers took their customers for granted --- going for every penny they could get out of even their most loyal customers.

Like a pendulum swinging from one extreme to the other --- Harley has brought in a new CEO, Keith Wandell, to shake things up and slash costs to the levels needed with the lower sales volume.

The problem is that the slash and burn approach that Wandell is taking, will only work in the short run, and may well be the beginning of the final end to the Harley story.

Mr. Wandell comes from an automotive OEM background --- which is a different world from a consumer oriented company.

His former employer sells to the Consumer Companies --- in the thousands --- an order could be for 30,000 seats, or 50,000 batteries, or 15,000 interiors. 

Ford has a Harley Edition F-150 Pickup Truck.  There is the Harley Badge and Logo on the special edition truck – and Ford has used the “Branding” that Harley created to help sell those trucks to the True Harley Believers.

Everyone knows it is a Special Edition Harley Truck --- but nobody knows who made the seats for the trucks, or whose battery is in the truck, and who makes the interiors.  All of those components may well be made by Mr Wandell’s former employer --- but Ford knows it is the Harley name that sells the truck.

A Company Like Harley Has to Sell One Bike At A Time To One Customer --- RETAIL SALES – NOT WHOLESALE.  Mr Wandell does not have that acumen.

Again, Harley needs to keep its present customers, and to attract the younger riders to the Harley name.

Instead, the new Harley administration is taking steps that seemed to be designed to alienate almost every demographic they need:

1)      Buell was a good opportunity for Harley to attract the crotch rocket crowd to the Harley family.  Instead of giving the support to Buell that it needed, it squandered the potential of Buell and then closed it down.

2)      Augusta MV represented a wholly unique segment of the motorcycle world, and its acquisition by Harley was probably not the most clever idea they had --- but again, instead of working with the brand to Harley’s advantage, they gave up and sold it.

3)      Although Harley often brags how almost every demographic buys their bikes, the fact of the matter is that the Blue Collar guy who works hard is their core.  The doctors and lawyers may like their new toys, but their loyalty to Harley is fleeting at best.  As Harley puts the screws to its Union Employees --- the guys (and gals) on the factory floor --- they are showing that there are Two Harley Families --- one for the Overpaid Executives and another for the Disposable Blue Collar Worker.

4)      MADE IN AMERICA --- for How Long?  Harley already imports a lot of parts from overseas --- but has made a point that the engines, transmissions and assembly are all here in the USA.  But as they screw the Union Folks and look towards low wage states like Kentucky, just how long will it be before their engines are stamped “Made in China”?

5)      BREW CITY -  GREAT PLACE ON THE LAKE – HARLEY TOWN --- Maybe Not So Much --- Harley has made it known that there is no loyalty to its Hometown, and they will move it all someplace else, to save a few bucks.

What Harley needs is a Visionary --- a Salesman --- a Personality, the likes of Lee Iacocca, who took a failed Chrysler and brought it back from the grave to a viable company.

Of course Mr Iacocca had to cut back --- when he took over the reins of Chrysler he found that their breakeven point was about 105% of capacity ! (from my memory)

But cutbacks by themselves would never have saved Chrysler. 

It took Excitement, Innovation, Working Together with all the Players Involved --- and a Leader who could put all those things together.

If Harley wants to survive, it must find ways to Retain Present Loyalties and to Create New Ones --- it CANNOT do that by DISMANTLING.

Unless it Steers a New Course Now --- Harley is About to Win Nothing but a Race to the Bottom.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

When it came to the Health Care Bill, the Senate Republicans did everything they could to stall or kill the measure. 

Some folks contended that the Republicans were doing that just because they would block Anything that Obama supports.

Republicans responded that was nonsense and that there were much more important matters that needed to be addressed, not the least of which was  Financial Regulatory Reform!

Maybe the Republican Senators actually believed that --- but by blocking debate on Financial Regulatory Reform yesterday, which they so solemnly said was sorely needed after the big bailouts for Wallstreet Firms such as Goldman & Sachs --- they have shown that they will try to block anything and everything that the Obama admistration supports --- even if it is something they themselves have been calling for.

Brings to mind the proverbial kid who takes his ball and bat home out of spite because he does not get his way playing with the other kids.

On Mainstreet they call such actions "High School" --- meaning that High Schoolers had not grown up and matured yet, and someone is acting immaturely.  But the Republicans actions so far have not yet reached the maturity level of even 5th graders!!!

It has been very obvious that the Republicans think that if they can just block Obama and Congress from doing the People's Work -- they will win back the majority in November.

On the Healthcare iniative, there was enough room for debate to maybe give them the benefit of the doubt.

But with their blocking of Financial Regulatory Reform yesterday, that course of action is going to help keep them in the minority.

The Folks on Mainstreet are not that dumb --- why in the world would they reward the Republicans for favoring Wallstreet's interests over Mainstreet's needs.

Every person who lost money in their pension account, or lost their job from the shaky economy, or lost 30% of their house's value is not going to forget that the Republicans yesterday blocked the debate needed to keep Wallstreet from manipulating the markets and the economy in the future.

I believe that in November, the voters WILL remember that the Republicans choose Wallstreet over Mainstreet --- and they will vote the Rascals Out!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  HOW MUCH IS LEFT IN YOUR PENSION ACCOUNT? DO YOU THINK WALLSTREET DESERVES A BREAK?

A LITTLE BACKGROUND FIRST ............

With all the advertisements on TV and other media, more than likely most folks ahve heard of Sleep Apnea.

It is a condition in which a person's air way partially or fully collapses while they are sleeping, and they are not getting enough oxygen -- which results in their partial awakening to open the passageway, lack of sleep, and possible heart problems down the road.

There are many different causes of the air way collapse.  I was diagnosed with this condition about 15 years ago, and in my case, per my doctor, my jaw is too far back, there is residual scar tissue from when my tonsils were removed, etc.

My options were major surgery moving both jaws forward (I was surprised to learn that the upper jaw can be moved with the lower) along with additional slicing and dicing ------------------ OR I could simply use a little machine called a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) which works on the blowing up a balloon principle, and keeps the airway open.

Simple choice for me --- I took the machine over the breaking and repositioning of jaws and doing a roto rooter job on my throat!

After almost 15 years of bliss --- using the CPAP --- updating machines as they improved and getting new parts and accessories as need --- lo and behold, my current insurer does not use the durable medical equipment supplier that I had used for over a decade.  Therefore I had to change to their supplier of choice, Walgreens.

There is a whold separate story here about the need for a new sleep study, new prescription from the doctor, setting up an appointment with Walgreens for new fitting, and of course co-ordinating this all with the insurance company.

These new CPAP machines are basically pretty automatic, unlike the old ones.  The old ones were pre-set to a certain pressure, and had to be changed manually if that setting was no longer the proper one.  The new machines have a computer, that detects the proper pressure and continually re-adjusts it to meet the needs. It has a little computer chip that can be read by computer to give a nice little prinout to the doctor, to verify all is well.

Sounds fairly simple and it should be.  Doctor calls supplier to get reading on chip, supplier does reading and sends to doctor.

But simple must not be in Walgreens vocabulary.

The doctor called them for a reading.  They called me a couple weeks ago (but did not identify themselves except to say they were calling about the computer chip) -- I was in a meeting and asked if I could call them back, but the gal said she would call me back in about an hour.

Whle two weeks later --- I get another call, this time they say they are with Walgreens, and need me to bring the chip in for them to test, per my doctor's request.  They left this message on my voicemail, did not leave a call back number, did not tell me how to transport the chip (could it be mailed?), or much of any information at all.

They are way out around 113th and Water Town Plank Road, which is a pretty good distance from Shorewood, but this morning I figured I had better get the chip to them and get it over with.  Despite no instructions of even where the chip was, I found it, put it in a container and drove out there.

Of course, the receptionist could not take the chip, which makes sense, so I was asked to wait for a techinician to come out for it. 

After about 5 minutes, another gal (I presume the technican) comes out from a door, with an armful of papers and a new chip.  I give her the old chip, and she hands me the new chip..................... and then the fun began!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She plopped down this ream of paperwork and told me to sign at the bottom of the top page.

This page was filled with a couple of dozen spaces that were filled in by hand, with all kinds of numbers --- some well over a Thousand Dollar$.

I asked what all the numbers were, and she said that was the agreement for the machine, which the insurance company actually rents for the first 6 months, and then buys it ( I asked but never got a good answer as to whether that is more expensive than just buying it).

Of course all that paperwork had been done months ago, when I first got the new machine.  I told her that, and said I was just dropping off the chip.

She said, oh actually it is just for this number, which was a $75 charge for downloading the information, of which I would have a $9 co-pay ....... and that ALL the other numbers, which were handwritten, did not apply.

Great -- I said then I would just cross out all those other numbers and just sign for the $75 ........

Nope --- she didn't want that, she said they all had to stay, and she needed the form signed.

NOW --- back to the opening question ....Are Walgreens' Customers Stupid -- or does Walgreens Just Expect Them to Be?

I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer --- but even I know better than to sign some form with handwritten amounts of Thousands of Dollar$ without knowing what it says ...... along with the sheaf of papers attached (I have seen less paperwork involved in buying a car from a dealer!)

Oh they assured me --- they would go over all the paperwork with me so they could explain it ........

UH NO --- not in the deal. 

I was asked to bring chip in, I did.  I did not volunteer to spend half an hour going over some paperwork they blindside me with ---- I have appointments and it was already an hour wasted just to take the chip to them.

So as far as I was concerned --- they had their Chip --- I had my Chip --- and other than that, I did not give a "Chip" :-)

Would you (readers) have signed the form without knowing what it was?  Would you gladly have spent another half an hour going over a form that was never mentioned?  Are you a Walgreens' customer --- are you stupid --- or does Walgreens expect you to be stupid?

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON ANY OF YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH WALGREENS, OR OTHER MEDICAL SUPPLIERS, INSURERS ETC.......... AND HEY !!!! IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE, THAT WOULD BE WELCOME TOO.

A little while ago, I happened to notice a fellow with a tee shirt, that was asking support for Local 212.  It mentioned MATC, and something about technical education helping to prepare students (paraphrasing).

In years past, I belonged to the Teamsters Union in Chicago, and was grateful for the support of the union, and especially for the union wages, which helped to raise my family.  Back in those days, there was also a great deal of solidarity between unions --- support for each others' struggles to earn a decent family supporting wage, and solid benefits.

And in full disclosure, after I was a Teamster, I worked in management wtih Teamster employees.  That gave me experience on  both sides of the coin.

 When de-regulation came along (started by Carter and continued enthusiastically by Regan) the trucking industry was one of those hardest hit.  Shipping rates plummeted, companies went broke, government regulators no longer cared about equal service, and safety issues went to the back burner. 

Along with the deregulation came union busting, and snarky lawyers  taught the trucking companies how to get out of their union contracts and bust unions -- often by very questionable legal manuvers.

If you are thinking of driving a truck nowadays --- you better like driving, long hours and hard work, but don't count on making a very good living, or necessarily getting benefits of any kind.

Sadly --- the airline industry has followed the same senario.  The Air Carriers of yesterday are mostly gone, or merged, or coming out of bankruptcy.

Once great jobs for airline employees, including pilots have disappeared.  Even a really great pilot like Skully - miracle over the Hudson fame - has to have two jobs to support his family.  And I don't for a second think that the airlines care nearly as much about safety as they use to --- safety is an expense!

Union busting was not just regulated to the Teamsters  of course.  Ronald Regan set the example when he laid off all the Air Trafiic Controllers.  All sorts of industries and factories quickly followed his lead.

A prime example for Milwaukee would be Briggs and Stratton --- there was a reason to move their factory jobs from Milwaukee to the southern states and overseas --- it was a quick and easy way to get out of their union contracts, and have more control over workers, while paying them less.  (Bonuses for the executives making a bigger profit?)

Ironically, about this time, public employees started to get more and more union rights, including teachers.  Laws that prohibited public employees from unionizing were struck down, and the public employees were able to manipulate the poiticians (with money of course) to give them more and more union power. 

The old deal of providing public employees with a minimally good wage, but extra good job security and good benefits in return for not unionizing, has been replaced with unionized public employees wanting it all.

But now we have a world in which thousands upon thousands of decent union factory jobs that were the backbone of the middle class are gone --- and they are probably never coming back.  

While we have a plethora of Public Unions, that are demanding more and more.

But just where is the more and more for the Public Union Employees suppose to come from?

The Middle Class is being decimated --- and the incomes they earned, and the housing they could afford, and the taxes they paid, are no longer there to support the public employees.

Cities going broke - states with budget deficits - privatizing of public employee jobs with low, low paid workers  --- none of this bodes well for the future of supporting our teachers, trash collectors, police, and fire fighters into the future.

Coming back to the fellow wearing the Local 212 shirt, asking us to support the MATC teacher's union (and please note, MATC teachers are the highest paid teachers on average) ---- all the history I noted about  our  former union workers and good paying middle class jobs came to my mind.

I asked him about his shirt, and he said it was his wife's.  I then asked him if she drove an American car -- and he said No, She Drives a Honda.

So much for the UAW I guess --- so much for Union Solidarity.

When MATC starts getting tough on the negotiations with their teachers -- laying teachers off --- going to online classes that cost less -- and in general cutting back because the Middle Class Workers who use to support the MATC costs and wages are now flipping burgers ........................................

I wonder if she and all the Union Teachers who are losing their jobs, or seeing their income decline,  will think that maybe if she (they) had bought a UAW car, just maybe, there would be enough well paid workers to support the ones that are left!

(In a perfect world maybe they would also drive their car to someplace other than Walmart where virtually everything seems to be made in China, and buy goods actually made by the folks who work here and pay the taxes that pay their salaries,

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

Prior to yesterday’s elections, I had posted interviews that I did with the four candidates for the Village Board. I thought it would be appropriate to give my opinion on the results of that race, and the race for the school board seats.

The top vote getter for the Village Board was Patrick Linnane (993 votes). 

I was not surprised by Patrick’s being elected, he by far ran the best  and most aggressive campaign of all the candidates. 

Having the opportunity to talk in depth with Patrick on more than one occasion, I was impressed by his desire to learn about the issues in depth.

I think his experience in government and non profit work, gives him a leg up on most first time politicians, as he has a good understanding of the processes involved. His experience in developing partnerships between different government entities should be especially helpful.

Ellen Eckman was re-elected for a fourth term with 859 votes. Ms Eckman, in my opinion has not shown much initiative or astuteness during her previous terms, but has been more of a get along member of the board. Having name recognition, and sticking with generalities at forums, she was probably considered a safe choice by voters.  

Donald Ford and Timothy Wick were not elected, and had 307 and 306 votes respectively.

Mr Ford is an experienced business executive. He is also a CPA, and I think that with his accounting background, he would have brought more depth to the board in assessing the economics of the village. He did not run a very aggressive campaign, but if he continues his interest in politics, perhaps this was a good first experience for him.

Tim Wick probably has the best grasp of the issues in the village. His past experience as a two term board member, his life long residency in Shorewood, and being a local business owner in Shorewood gives him a deeper understanding of how the village is affected by board decisions. Unfortunately, Mr Wick did not run a very aggressive campaign either, electing not to participate in any of the three public forums. He has a reputation for calling them as he sees them, and in the world of politics, that is not necessarily a recipe for success in being elected.

SCHOOL BOARD

In the school board race, the two newbies, Colin Plese and Rob Reinhoffer (875 & 708 votes respectively) unseated veteran school board member John Carlton who had 659 votes.

I attended one of the forums for the school board candidates, and also attended a citizens meeting on school finances.

Without a doubt, John Carlton was the most knowledgeable of the three candidates. Both Plese and Reinhoffer have steep learning curves ahead of them.

I confess that after seeing the candidates at that forum, I basically did not think it would make any difference who was elected!

The challenge that the Shorewood Schools face is that the building are only 65% utilized, and our student population is continuing to decline.

The largest part of our property tax bill is for the schools --- and that is despite the fact that only 61% of the cost of our schools comes from our property taxes. The rest of the funds come primarily from the state and federal governments.

If the Shorewood community wants to continue down the path of very high expenses for a small school system, than there is really nothing that has to be done ---- we are on that path already.

However, if the Shorewood community would like to continue to provide a great education, at a reasonable cost, than there are some hard decisions to be made, and there has to be the will of the school board members to at least discuss the options in an open dialogue. 

What I heard from the school board candidates was what I considered to be a lot of yada, yada, yada …………….. generalities, and cheer leading.

None of the candidates stepped on any of the third rail issues, that I think communities like Shorewood will have to consider to bring costs in line with enrollment:

• Closing of school buildings, which are only utilized at 65% capacity, but require costs in maintenance, etc.
• Larger class sizes, increasing the ratio of pupils to teachers, to a point at which education does not suffer, but staffing costs are reduced.
• Consolidation with other school district(s) --- virtually all of our neighbors are in the same situation --- Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, etc. They all have drastically reduced student populations, high vacancies in their school buildings, and multiple costs for administration, with each having its own administrative staff at very high costs, especially on a per pupil ratio.

THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS ……………….WHAT DO YOU THINK?              YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

Although the candidates for the village board have had a number of panel discussions, or debates, the total audience they were able to address was very small, maybe a little over a hundred people total, compared to Shorewood’s population of some 13,000.

I did a telephone interview with each candidate, asking them about their positions on very specific issues. Not all of these issues will be of concern to every voter, but hopefully I have covered enough of them to give the voters a better idea about the candidates.

As a disclaimer, these were live telephone interviews, from which I made notes, so the responses should not be considered verbatim. 

If any candidate feels that their response was not adequately conveyed, or if they would like to add additional comments, they are encouraged to use the comment section at the end of this posting ---- comments from all readers are of course always welcome.

The Election is this coming Tuesday, April 6, 2010 --- the 4 candidates are vying for 2 open seats.

The Candidates are:

1)      Ellen Eckman, educator, incumbent, served two terms, running for third term.

2)      Don Ford, business executive, first time candidate

3)      Patrick Linnane, retired government & non profit executive,  first time candidate

4)      Timothy Wick, business owner in Shorewood, served on village board 1992-1998.

QUESTIONS & RESPONSES

1)    During your time as a Trustee, what were your greatest accomplishments:

ECKMAN: Helped re-establish the Conservation Committee, worked on the Parks Committee, worked with the CDA on the Oakland Ave and Capitol Drive projects

FORD: N/A

LINNANE: N/A

WICK: I served two terms on the village board, 1992 to 1998. I didn’t consider that I personally can take credit for accomplishments we had, but that we worked together as a board on the issues that were brought to us, and used the resources of the village attorney, village manager, etc.

2)    What new ideas are you bringing to the village board

ECKMAN: Continue development of the parks, more bicycle and pedestrian safety, collaborate on projects with the county like the Esterbrook dog park

FORD: No preset agenda, have more time to become more involved in the community, as a CPA I would focus on finances and alternatives to property taxes

LINNANE: I would like to use my past experience to help build partnerships with the school district, the neighboring municipalities, the university and businesses.

WICK: I am concerned with how the BID money is being spent. One example that is very close to my own livelihood is that the BID is actively spending money and soliciting to get a Wine Store to move into the new development at Oakland and Kensington. I pay taxes to the BID and they are using my own money to bring a specific competition to my business, directly across the street from me. In addition, to my store, there are many others that already sell wine, including Sendiks, Pick and Save.

3)    Shorewood has been very aggressive in promoting new commercial development --- do you agree with this and why

ECKMAN: Commercial development strengthens property values which were dropping 10 years ago, commercial property brings in more taxes as they pay a higher tax rate

FORD: I agree with the work the CDA is doing. As a CPA I want to make sure costs are under control. I think the new development increases tax base and attracts families

LINNANE: We have to be aggressive to enhance our quality of life, including being able to walk to businesses.

WICK: Although I agree with new commercial development and the new tax dollars it might bring, I am concerned that we concentrate too much on new tax dollars, without being concerned enough with spending the money we already have more wisely.

4)    How does the TIF affect residential property owners

ECKMAN: I feel they increase overall value, but not sure of numbers

FORD: It doesn’t

LINNANE: I think it banks the increase in property value for future use --- not sure of the return on investment.

WICK: I don’t think it directly impacts residential property owners.

5)    Should we have paid big money to Harleys and the Bistro to move down the block or across the street

ECKMAN: Yes, I feel that the constituents wanted us to do so

FORD: I have not had a chance to study those issues yet.

LINNANE: Yes

WICK: No

6)    What about the building owners where they moved from

ECKMAN: That wasn’t a question.

FORD: It could be concerning, especially if it is just a “shell game” .

LINNANE: That is a legitimate concern that needs to be addressed.

WICK: It is a concern that across the street from me now will be 3 empty commercial spaces, since the village is paying the Bistro to move to the new development.

7)    Should we have given a loan to Open Book

ECKMAN: Don’t know, not sure of loan security

FORD: I am glad it is there, sorry to hear it is closing.

LINNANE: Given the value it brings to Shorewood, I would endorse.

WICK: No

8)    Should the Village clear the snow from business sidewalks and parkways so shops are more accessible

ECKMAN: We are doing so now, DPW bought new equipment to do so

FORD: I would be in favor of the snow removal to give access to the shops.

LINNANE: I would like to try to figure out a way we can do that.

WICK: As regarding businesses, yes.

9)    Did you think the recent streetscaping on North Oakland Avenue was necessary just about 10 years after it had a major overhaul

ECKMAN: The first attempt was not successful, had problem with bricks in parkway.

FORD:  I am not familiar with the entire history on the Oakland streetscaping, but I am aware that the planters just put in are an obstruction for cars parking.

LINNANE: Not sure

WICK: No. It was a big waste of money. The items they replaced were nowhere near the end of their life. Now we have those awful planters that people hit with their car doors.

10)     Do you think our residential housing stock is keeping up with modern standards

ECKMAN: We are actively encouraging property owners in lots of ways including exterior code compliance

FORD: No opinion yet

LINNANE: Yes- but we need to continue working on it

WICK: We are an older village and some of our housing can be improved.

11)     What ideas do you have for improving our residential properties to more current housing standards

ECKMAN: Don’t know if possible for TIF, state has rebate programs, we need more education

FORD: Need to study issue more. 

LINNANE: I think programs like property management training and more oversight on landlords

WICK: I am in favor of the duplex program, converting to single family, upgrade the housing and cut down on vehicles.

12) Are there any energy conservation ideas or programs that you would introduce or support

ECKMAN: More work and input from the Conservation Committee

FORD: At the village level, recycling and chemicals used are of concern to me.

LINNANE: Everyday something new --- a lot to look at and do --- the school district has set a good example

WICK: I would like to see the village provide larger recycling containers, I bought two of my own at my own expense. The recycling hauler for the village has managed to break both of them, but won’t take responsibility for that. An increase in the number of times we pick up recycling compared to trash, and the costs involved should be studied.

13)What about consolidating services such as the police dept with other Northshore suburbs

ECKMAN: Worth discussing, talked about it at length, initiatives to Whitefish Bay turned down by WFB, would still be open to consideration

FORD: Absolutely

LINNANE: Coordination and cooperation can be good, and we should look at how we can improve service while benefiting from the economies of scale

WICK: I would support that.

14)What do you think needs to be done to support the money problems of the Shorewood Schools

ECKMAN: I am on the joint task force of village and school board officials, we are in exploratory discussions, in the past we helped pay for the new athletic field and streetscaping

FORD: We should if we are able to.

LINNANE: There is activity now between the village and school boards, they are studying what they can do legally and economically.

WICK: They are separate government entities, and not much we can really do there.

15)Should the Shorewood Schools consolidate with the WFB system?

ECKMAN: No idea

FORD: That is the business of the school board.

LINNANE: No

WICK: No

16)What do you propose to do about the sewer overflows from Shorewood due to our combined sewer system

ECKMAN: We are working with MMSD and exploring options

FORD: This is something we must address, as it affects the quality of the lake water.

LINNANE: Don’t know enough about the issue to comment at this point.

WICK: We need to separate them, plain and simple.

17)Do you think the BID helps Shorewood businesses

ECKMAN: BID has made businesses more visible

FORD: I am not familiar enough with what they do.

LINNANE: Don’t know enough about the issue to comment at this point.

WICK: No

18)Should the Senior Center be upgraded --- do we need more services for seniors – if so what

ECKMAN: I think the need has been met at this point

FORD: I don’t know the history of what has changed, but I do know that the Senior Center should be a destination for the Seniors and am in favor of making it so.

LINNANE: I have not heard any requests for it

WICK: Yes --- we should provide a quality area for them to gather.

19) Are the overnight parking restrictions necessary --- do they unfairly impact the lower income residents of the village, as more of a taxing function than police function

ECKMAN: We are working on a comprehensive plan, feeling is that a lot of residents don’t want it, purpose of ban is not safety.

FORD: I would like to see the statistics and study the issue more thoroughly, I am also interested in facts about hardships the restrictions may create for some of the people affected.

LINNANE: This is an issue that will never be resolved. Different concerns different parts of village, such as area by UWM.

WICK: I am against overnight parking.

20) What changes in priorities would you suggest for the future

ECKMAN: Need to continue interest in infrastructure, parks, Atwater, conservation and healthy finances

FORD: Closer work with the school board, an emphasis on the parks and the lake, and continue to increase property values.

LINNANE: The village is in the process of doing a comprehensive plan, which I would like to participate in, issues like parking, the beach, and the river.

WICK: I would like to see fundraising for projects such as a garden on the parkway, improving Atwater beach, and some other enhancements that we can possibly get private contributions for.

In a continuation of the series I am doing on the phone policies of the Milwaukee County Jail and of the various police departments in Milwaukee County.

I have established a big disparity between your chances of going to jail if you are pulled over on a traffic stop and there is a warrant for your arrest out there, depending upon whether the MIlwaukee Police pull you over, or one of the suburban departments pull you over.

We are not talking about hardened criminals who have just robbed a bank, or someone who is wanted for felony battery ......... if you forgot to return that book to the library, you may be surprised to find there is a warrant for your arrest for past library fines.  And that is not a joke --- it happens all the time !!!

In previous postings I established that all of the North Shore Police Departments allow arrestees to make phone calls, before carting them off to jail.  For one very good reason, the police would rather see someone post bail than have to send one of their officers all the way to the jail, and have the officer tied up for hours in transport and processing. 

It is also a good component of "community policing" when citizens do not feel that they are being exploited for the want of a phone call.

In continuing correspondence with Anne E Schwartz, the spokesperson for the Milwaukee Police Department, I received the following confirmation about a particular case I wrote her about:

(please note I have not used the arrestee's name for privacy, and there is some confusion as to exactly what the warrants were, although all of them were for money due, and only required a collection of less than $900 ......... he ended up in jail for 5 days before any of his friends or family knew since he could not make a phone call)

"Hello, Dave -

It has been our practice not to give arrestees a phone call if they are not going to be in our custody for a substantial length of time - if the transfer is to be to another agency.

In Mr. xxxxx's  case, he was transferred to the custody of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, and you may want to direct your question to them. He was stopped for a vehicle registration violation and subsequently was arrested for outstanding warrants -  ............ He was in our custody at District 2 for less than 3 hours.

Regarding phone calls from the CJF, we can not address what procedures are followed by another agency.

Anne E. Schwartz

Office of Media & Communications

Milwaukee Police Department"

I am continuing my correspondence with Ms Schwartz, and I am hoping I can interview Chief of Police Flynn on this topic.

I have also been in communication with Captain Aisha Barkow, of the Milwaukee Sheriff's Department, and I am awaiting her reply on the policy at the jail and the house of correction.

WHICH SIDE OF THE STREET DO YOU DRIVE ON?  DO YOU HAVE ANY PAST DUE LIBRARY BOOKS?

All of the Northshore Police Departments have responded to my inquiry about whether they allow arrestees to make phone calls when they are arrested.

Every single one of the departments, in general, allow the arrestees to make calls.  Procedures vary a little, but basically the arrestees are allowed to use their cell phones, or the police allow them to use the police phones, to make contact with someone who can bail them out.

Of course, with all the departments, if the arrestee is combative or making a disturbance, safety concerns will take precedence.

The following response from Chief Resnick, Bayside PD, is pretty representative of the suburban departments policies.

"David, we do allow telephone calls in almost all instances before transport to other facilities.  We find it extremely beneficial if family and friends know the whereabouts of their loved ones.  This facilitates appropriate representation, bail, etc.

Generally the only arrestees not allowed access to a phone are those that have been uncooperative and/or pose some type of security threat.

If you need any further information please let me know.

Chief Bruce Resnick
Bayside Police Department
9075 N. Regent Road
Bayside, WI  53217-1800

Tel 414-351-8800
Fax 414-351-8810

Integrity-Service-Solutions      "

I have had the opportunity to talk and correspond with Anne E Schwartz, the public relations representative for the Milwaukee Police Department.  Ms Schwartz's initial research is as follows, please note that I have responded to her with the particular situation that started this series of postings, and she will be getting back with more information:

"Hello, Dave -

We do not allow arrestees to make phone calls. However, your example of the person who lost their job has us asking a number of questions, namely, why was he held for 3 days in CJF on municipal citations? He would not be held for three days because of municipal warrants - there has to be more to that story. If you supply us his name and date of birth, I'd be happy to look into what occurred in his specific circumstance so you can accurately inform your readers.

Thank you.

Anne E. Schwartz

Office of Media & Communications

Milwaukee Police Department

749 W. State Street

Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53233

Office Phone:  (414) 935-7209"

There has been no response from Mayor Barrett's office.

I received the following response from the County Exec Office:

"Mr. Tatarowicz -
I am responding to your email sent to the county executive yesterday regarding the telephone policy for inmates at the jail.  You raise some good questions on the procedures in place.  Unfortunately, our office is not involved in the policies set by the Sheriff for running the jail.  Your email was also directed to the office of the Sheriff, and they should have the information you are seeking.
Thank you for your interest and for contacting our office,


Fran McLaughlin
Director of Communications
Office of the Milwaukee County Executive
414-278-4244 - office
414-235-6592 - cell "

I received the following "auto" response from Sheriff Clarke's office

"Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. thanks you for contacting the
Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.  Our headquarters are located at 821 W.
State Street, Room 107, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53233.  Our main
administrative offices are open from Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m.

Your e-mail is important to us.  This message is an automated response to
let you know that your message was received and will be forwarded to the
appropriate person(s) or division(s) for a response.

If your situation is an emergency, you should dial 9-1-1.

Thank you again for giving us the privilege of being of service to you.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office...Expect the Best!! "


In summation at this point:

1) Suburban departments save money and resources by allowing phone calls

2) Milwaukee PD does not allow them at this time, but hopefully they will re-examine that policy, in light of what other departments do, and the money they save.

3) Milwaukee County as a whole is facing a HUGE budget shortfall --- as is the Sheriff's Department in particular, but the County Exec is passing on this issue.

4) Sheriff Clarke whose budget is most affected by keeping people in jail when they could often bail out with a simple phone call, has yet to respond.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME !