Milwaukee County retiree drawing big payout

This is just plain wrong....

Watching your 401(k) dwindle to nothing? Afraid your retirement might not be there when you reach 65? Too bad you didn't take a job with Milwaukee County years ago. Then you might be sitting pretty - just like George Brotz. Brotz retired in August after 38 years with the county, leaving office as a $75,000-per-year accounting manager in the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department. Last week, the county Pension Board approved Brotz's retirement request for a lump-sum payment of $847,861 under the "backdrop" provision in the lucrative 2001 pension deal. In addition, Brotz will be receiving a monthly retirement check of $2,887, or nearly $35,000 per year. Just think about it. The career government bureaucrat will receive more than $1 million within five years of quitting his job. With his lump-sum payment, Brotz will become the county's all-time backdrop champ, pulling down $160,000 more than that paid out to the next-luckiest county retiree. Under the backdrop, employees who stay on after they are eligible to retire can receive both a lump-sum payout and a monthly retirement benefit. The lump sums can be rolled over into a tax-deferred IRA or taken as cash. Brotz, 66, could have left the public trough as early as 1993. The public eruption over the remarkably generous retirement changes led to the ouster of then-County Executive F. Thomas Ament and many supervisors. Ament's team promised this provision wouldn't cost taxpayers anything extra. In truth, more than $137 million had been paid out in backdrops to former county workers through the middle of this year. Called Friday, Brotz hung up when asked about his pension package. His wife, Ann, was just as testy. "I'm waiting for a call from the Social Security Administration," she said before hanging up. Later in the afternoon, she said she was still awaiting that call. In addition, nobody answered the door at the couple's Shorewood residence. They live in a three-story, stucco and stone house - assessed at some $570,000 - with immaculately maintained hedges. Clearly, the pair wants to keep to themselves any discussion of their record-setting etirement income, compliments of the taxpayers. The payout comes at a terrible time for the county. So far this year, its retirement portfolio has lost about 30% of its value because of the stock market meltdown. Overall, the county is facing major cuts just to balance its budget. Just image what the officials could do with an extra $850,000. They could replace the old heating and ventilation system at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Or they could double the size of the witness protection program or underwrite the entire budget for a greatly expanded public integrity unit within the district attorney's office. For that matter, the annual budget for the office of County Executive Scott Walker is $1.3 million. Walker - who spent last week at the Republican Governors Association and met with a team of new advisers about a 2010 gubernatorial run - could put most of his campaign team on the county payroll with that kind of money. "We do keep that very separate," Walker spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin demurred. In fact, Brotz could pay the salaries of 17 county supervisors for the next year with the money he'll be getting from the backdrop. Not that anyone is suggesting Milwaukee County expand its board. As far as most county residents are concerned, supervisors did enough damage already by giving their blessing to the backdrop proposal.

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/34563709.html

In times like this, such a payout system is even more unjustifiable. I cannot believe articles about park program cuts and deferred maintenance issues in Milwaukee County when I see the price of the misguided promises made in the past.