By Ted Chisholm

When we elect leaders to represent us, we rightfully ask them to explain how their policies will provide a tangible benefit to our community. As a candidate for Milwaukee County Treasurer in the August 13 Democratic primary, I am frequently asked that question. I am always happy to respond because the County Treasurer’s Office can do much more to support a thriving community for all.

First, the County Treasurer can drive economic growth that actually benefits our communities, and not just well-heeled developers in downtown Milwaukee. The Treasurer is responsible for enforcing property tax delinquencies in eighteen of Milwaukee County’s nineteen municipalities – the City of Milwaukee has its own elected treasurer. That means that in Glendale, Brown Deer, Wauwatosa, Shorewood, West Allis, and communities across our county, the Treasurer can take action to foreclose on vacant and abandoned industrial and commercial sites whose owners have failed to pay property taxes in years.

All too often, vacant and abandoned properties languish for years, while Milwaukee County foots the tax bill to the municipality. This is a problem for our entire community, and the Treasurer’s Office must do more to acquire these properties, even if that means working with state and private-sector partners to identify, on the front end, funding that the county’s economic development staff can use to make the properties suitable for sale upon acquisition.

By acquiring vacant properties more rapidly, the Treasurer’s Office can help restore them to active use. Once a property is acquired by Milwaukee County through foreclosure by the Treasurer’s Office and the Office of Corporation Counsel, the property can be cleaned up, as is often required of old industrial sites and sold by the county’s Economic and Community Development Division. The sale of these properties will create new revenue for Milwaukee County, enabling greater investment in human services and infrastructure that benefit all Milwaukee County residents.

At the same time, in communities directly served by the Treasurer’s enforcement function, there is a need for greater housing equity and for the buildout of locally-owned businesses – including Black-owned businesses seeking to expand. When we look at growing communities like Brown Deer, Glendale, Oak Creek, and Franklin, we see a common pattern: the potential for business growth and investment in new markets.

At the same time, industrial and commercial prospects are not the only opportunities made available by the redevelopment of land obtained by the Treasurer’s Office. Milwaukee County needs more affordable housing, particularly in our suburban communities, that is truly accessible and welcoming to all members of our community. The Treasurer’s Office can help catalyze this critical form of development by working with municipal partners to acquire abandoned properties that could be redeveloped into opportunities for new housing, such as single-family homes, multi-unit complexes, or mixed-use residential developments with retail outlets on the ground floor.

I hope this summary helps illustrate how an engaged and effective Treasurer’s Office could provide better service to our community!