A new analysis released today by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin shows that Walker collected some $18,000 in these very benefits while serving in the state Legislature. On Thursday, DPW Chair Mike Tate demanded that Scott Walker repay taxpayers the $18,000 to make good on his political grandstand.
“If Scott Walker felt so strongly about his pension announcement, he should start by paying back his pension contributions that Wisconsin taxpayers picked up while he was a legislator,” said Tate. “If he wants to score political points on the same benefits he has taken from Wisconsin taxpayers, then Scott Walker needs to put his money where his mouth is and walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”
Scott Walker has grandstanded on pension issues since 2003, when he was elected based on his promise of pension reform. Instead of reform, he brought Wisconsinites $400 million in new borrowing and financial scandals. He has failed to deliver reform, even at the Count, where retirement benefits are described on the County’s own website as “substantially noncontributory”.
“Scott Walker hasn’t fixed Milwaukee’s pension scandal, Scott Walker IS Milwaukee’s pension scandal,” Tate said.
Based on the analysis that is reflected in the table below, if Scott Walker was asked to pay back taxpayers to cover the state picking up his pension contributions while he was a state legislator, it would be an estimated payment of $17,995.47. This does not include interest.
Year
Participant Contribution
Employer Contribution
Total Contribution
Legislator Salary
Participant Total
Employer Total
1993
5.5%
11.1%
16.7%
$35,070
$1,928.85
$3,892.77
1994
5.5%
11.1%
16.7%
$35,070
$1,928.85
$3,892.77
1995
5.5%
11.1%
16.7%
$38,056
$2,093.08
$4,224.22
1996
4.6%
10.1%
14.7%
$38,056
$1,750.58
$3,843.66
1997
4.7%
10.2%
14.9%
$39,211
$1,842.92
$3,999.52
1998
4.7%
10.2%
14.9%
$39,211
$1,842.92
$3,999.52
1999
4.3%
9.8%
14.1%
$41,809
$1,797.79
$4,097.28
2000
4.1%
9.6%
13.7%
$41,809
$1,714.17
$4,013.66
2001
3.9%
9.4%
13.3%
$44,233
$1,725.09
$4,157.90
2002
3.1%
8.6%
11.7%
$44,233
$1,371.22
$3,804.04
Grand Totals
$17,995.47
$39,925.34
To put this in terms Scott Walker can understand, $18,000 equals…
Nearly half of the pay raise he gave himself
Close to the amount he has spent on meals for himself, his staff and others, and food and drinks for fundraising events
18 tickets to rub elbows with fat cats in Washington
or 9 steak dinners for himself and fat cat donors.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted an article today exposing the shoddy conditions that state inspectors found at the Scott Walker’s County Health Complex. If you suffered from a mental illness, does this sound like an environment that would help you get better?
Milwaukee County comes under fire by state inspectors for shoddy conditions at the Mental Health Complex, including a series of fire and other patient safety violations, in three reports released Monday.
The inspection reports also found the county psychiatric hospital had further erred by failing to properly maintain patient records, failing to get the proper OK for administering medications and not having complete records on physical restraints and drugs used on patients. The reports also found poor oversight of private contractors responsible for food safety and medical records.
A day after Scott Walker politically postured to cover up a growing scandal, a new Web ad released today by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin focuses on Scott Walker’s failure to protect women in Milwaukee County’s care from sexual predators.
Various state, local and federal probes are underway at Scott Walker’s mental health complex, where conditions of neglect found after a patient starved to death there in 2006 have continued to the present-day, when housing female patients with men known to be violent was given as the false choice to keep the men from fighting.
Though the unsecured and mixed-gender arrangements have been vocally opposed for years by nurses at the facility, Walker and his hand-picked administrator have defended the policy and the conditions at the complex, which is facing a staffing crisis because of his poor budgeting.
Meanwhile, county taxpayers have paid more than $200,000 for a private attorney-not to prevent rapes or custodial deaths, but to protect Scott Walker and his cronies from liability in the unfolding scandal, for which the GOP gubernatorial candidate has tried to deflect scrutiny and has refused to answer basic questions.
Yesterday, Walker announced that he would be raiding a capital fund to fix building violations that are the result of his plan to defer maintenance at the mental health complex. It is not clear that the funds are even bond eligible.
“The patients of Milwaukee County’s mental health complex were put at risk of preventable sexual assault because of decisions that Scott Walker made, but he’s too busy with political gamesmanship to answer for his failures,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Tuesday. “Scott Walker has failed the most vulnerable of Milwaukee County. We cannot let him bring his reckless management to all Wisconsin.”
The new Web ad and a full timeline of events at the Behavioral Health Division is available online here.
