Top Stories Milwaukee

Some 21 staffers for Milwaukee County Clerk of Courts John Barrett will be retiring at the end of the month, many due to anticipated changes in employee benefits brought on by Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. The spate of turnover could slow down essential court services, according to the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Barrett, who oversees the processing of records for the county’s 47 circuit courts and 22 court commissioners, told the Journal that “due to the draconian nature of some of these proposals, we’re looking at a mass exodus of individuals from our office. That will put a tremendous burden on our office … I’m concerned about the delays in court proceedings that might occur as a result of this.”

john barrett

Barrett said the following areas could be affected: warrant processing, criminal judgments and scheduling cases in small claims court.

He’s anticipating being unable to re-hire the lost employees. “This leaves court staff behind and could result in more errors,” he said.

The budget repair bill, which limits the collective bargaining rights of public employees, opens the door for local governments, including Milwaukee County, to increase the pensions and health plan contributions required of their employees. Walker’s 2011-13 biennial budget is expected to force many to hike up those contributions: It cuts state aid to local government and also limits their ability to raise property taxes to compensate for the lost revenue.

The bill is being fought in Dane County Circuit Court. On Monday, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen appealed a restraining order issued by Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi last week that temporarily bars Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law. Sumi concluded the state Legislature had circumvented state open meetings law in its rush to pass it.

Both the Wisconsin Retirement System, used by state employees and many local ones, and Milwaukee’s County’s Employee Retirement System have reported a sharp spike in employees filing for retirement.

Sam White, director of UW-Milwaukee’s Center for Workforce Development, told WUWM recently that the rush to retire will probably lead to fewer government jobs in Wisconsin overall as positions are allowed to remain vacant.

But the losses won’t necessarily drive up the unemployment rate. In fact, it might drive it down, he said. “The potential increase in retirements will likely make unemployment rates decrease … because some of those who are retiring do, in fact, leave the labor force.”

He adds, “It may look better because we have a lower unemployment rate, but if we have fewer people seeking work or working, that is going to make the challenge of growing an economy more difficult.”

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.