Potted Plant Ament Resurfaces

Tom Ament is doing the same thing in his retirement as he did during his tenure as Milwaukee County Exec. He still resurfaces about once a year and still advocates screwing the taxpayers.

Ament said he's saddened by the county's plight but notes that Walker says it is more because of soaring health care costs than the infamous pension sweeteners.

He thinks talk of the need for drastic remedies - such as dismantling county government - is overblown and Walker's deficit projections are far too pessimistic.

"There's no need to declare bankruptcy. Many things can be done. But they have to work at it," Ament said of county officials.

First, he said, the county should raise property taxes to the legal limit. He was sharply critical of Walker's tax-freeze approach for leaving revenue on the table. Supervisors have slightly bumped up the levy over Walker's objections, just less than 6% in four years.

"They are paying the price for a level property tax levy," Ament said. "That has a cumulative effect."

Of course the FIRST thing Ament would do is hike taxes.

Asking Ament how he'd get Milwaukee County out of its fiscal mess is like asking Ken Lay how to resurrect Enron.

Walker nailed it, again.

Walker dismissed Ament's call for maximum property tax increases, saying that approach wouldn't come close to covering soaring expenses for pensions and health care. Walker draws a connection between the regular tax boosts in Ament's era and population loss from Milwaukee County.

"He sounds like somebody living in the past when the costs were different," Walker said. "This guy wants us to raise taxes to pay for his pension is really what it boils down to."

The Ament insight was part of a series of articles highlighting Milwaukee County's budget woes that have run in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.