I really need to start paying attention to the local shat more. Fortunately, CNI, the publisher of the Oak Creek Pictorial (at least until it is fully-subsumed into the Journal Sentinel Inc. umbrella). has launched OakCreekNOW.com (side note, do NOT look for me to be a community voice; I’m “just a bit” too salty.)
A few short years after getting us to bend over for a massive high school expansion and a new elementary school (and about 10 years after building a shiny new West Middle School), guess who’s coming back for more? The freshly-launched OakCreekNOW.com, featuring stories from the Oak Creek Pictorial, reports that, in preparation for a November 7 $28.5 million dollar referendum for building a shiny new replacement for Oak Creek East Middle School (originally built in 1956 and expanded in 1970), the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District will be spending $1.44 million for a 36-acre plot of land on East Oakwood Road. Why 36 acres? Allegedly, it’s so that they could put yet another elementary school on the site. Never mind that just down the road is their shiny new elementary school. Never mind that Meadowview is just up the road (oh, that’s right, Meadowview is more than 15 years old, so it will be deemed in need of replacement in the near future).
To throw insult onto injury, they also approved a $30,000/6 acre land purchase adjacent to the existing East Middle School. Why? So that they can build a second high school. Never mind that they just spent $30+ million to expand and remodel the current high school on the promise that they wouldn’t build a second one.
As for the city budget, I don’t have the numbers yet. The Common Council will meet in committee Monday to discuss it, and then will take it up in open session in their November 8th meeting. Guess I’ll be going to the monthly meet-the-mayor deal on Saturday to see if I can’t get my grubby little fingers on the budget.
The school board has given OC/Franklin residents incorrect financial projected costs. The costs are incorrect as they were calculated on incorrect growth data. In 2006, home sales in OC, decreased by nearly 2/3’s. In addition 288 homes fell into foreclosure prior to the increase in variable interest rates. We should not expect a 7% increase on our tax bills instead look for 14% or higher. The state as a whole has a repressed economy. The only growth is in crime, taxes, and govt. Oak Creek has huge financial problems that the current city officials are trying hard to guise. Residents beware.
Oak Creek BS 2006 11-21
The mayor keeps verbally insulting citizen speakers at public meetings in front of the Oak Creek council. He did it again at the budget meeting on November 13, 2006. Then he tells us our taxes will only go up a nickel per $1000. That is just the Oak Creek city’s side. This doesn’t include the schools, county, our wasteful community college, etc. The other hidden increases are in Tiff’s, bonds and the hiring 6 new employees. Only the first year of their employment is paid for by the power plant. The 3 new firemen and 3 new policemen (to fill up the cops marble mansion) will cost of over US a $1,000,000 per year forever. This includes Our new city employees pay; benefits, retirement, equipment, training and whatever else cops and robbers spend.
Then the mayor said, "Oak Creek is only at 85% valued average of all the homes and business. 85% of what valuation for property taxes?" B.S. 1. All new building should be at least 98% of the values and the assessor did revalued many properties for the 2006 basis. 2. The price of homes has stabilized or went down during the past 2 years and 3. Were is all the money going that the city of Oak Creek is taking in? Pay off attorneys and what ever for our crooks like the past treasurer and police chief. Percentages, percentages "“ the lies of local government. 85% of WHAT???
With all the red tape to build any new building into Oak Creek, (my 75% that OC can’t disprove) the new construction prefers to build in Franklin or Caledonia. We get churches, schools and no new jobs to replace Delco Electronics. This has been the trend for the last 20 years. Just ask the mayor. He wanted the new office building for an architect to give away half of the 5 acres to the city. First to the city outright and then to a city park. Our new residents in the end had to promise not to build anything on their vacant 5 acres but they must pay the new high taxes on the vacant 3 acres for the rest of their lives assessed as if the could build on the entire business property. Then our mayor’s ending comment to the architect, "Welcome to Oak Creek!"
The mayor now wants to convert our lakefront (Bender Park) into condos, manufacturing and leave a small part to Bender Park. WOW, the gold coast lake front condos. Yes, this is better than a golf course that Milwaukee County doesn’t have the money to build. Can I buy 50 acres for development at park prices for land?
Not much has change since Oak Creek was formed to beat out the city of Milwaukee in 1955. Even the power plant is giving us crumbs again with their new expansion.
Slovak,
What the mayor meant was that current home evaluation in Oak Creek has dropped since the last city wide assessment to 85% of fair market value. They have been budgeting in 50,000 per year last year, this year, and next year to do a city wide reassessment in 08, the year the current mayor plans on stepping down. Then, without raising the rate the taxes will increase on the increase in value. And he can tell the OC residents that he never raised the taxes. They are to stupid to know he is steadily increasing the spending. Just another scam out of Madison to rob the citizens of more of thier money. Also why taxes went down last year. You are absolutely correct taxes in all areas are going up this year to pay the high salaries, benefits and retirements of state employees. THE ONLY WAY I CAN THINK TO BRING THEM TO THIER KNEES IS TO SAY NO THIS YEAR WISCONSINITES ARE NOT PAYING ANY TAXES. WHAT COULD THEY DO? EVICT THE WHOLE STATE? A silent protest? Would this be legal or would we end up behind bars for promoting the protest? Sounds like we need the advice of Citizen’s Action and Citizens For Responsible Government on this one.
Slovak,
As to your comments about the Mayors behavior. I’ll have you know that he is an upstanding South Milwaukee raised citizen. An only child. He worked for an Insurance Company. Are you aware one can’t even get a job with an insurance company unless you can pass their tests? Obviously,I’m not speaking of intelligence testing, psychological tests. Have you ever looked at the psychological profile of persons working in the insurance industry? INTERESTING.
But he had the backing of the less than honorable backbone political structure, the local unions, chamber of commerce, community center goofs, Lions, et el. The greedy who have historically made money off oak creek development, like hay, funded by the residents tax dollars. Same as today, Oakwood Road, and other free short cuts to infrastructure and municipal services. Nothing new just a brash bull in the china shop style that is certainly revealing. But this is the mayor the dummies elected. The oak creek mucky mucks that don’t know their arse from a hole in the ground but are upstanding residents of the community and probably attend St Matts seeing that the rest of us no longer do.
Hey Slovak, are you paying attention? Now, the Planning Commission has held over the rezoning of the land on Oakwood until January. WHY? The land meets all the requirements and the planning department does not have any objections, so what is the problem? What do you think is going on behind closed doors on this one? It’s certainly not the objections of the nearby property owers who object to a school in their backyards some who purchased their land from the same parcel and property ower. This must impede future development plans, city hall? Lake Bluff, Bender Park? All of the above? What cha think?
Now that we’ve got this moved to the new place, let’s continue.
‘Tis real “interesting” how “all of a sudden” that the Oakwood Road site can no longer support both the shiny new middle school and the replacement for Meadowview as was planned. Nice to know that we paid $1.44 million for 25 acres of usable land and 13 acres of swamp.
As for that Meadowview replacement, damn, but that site is very close to that shiny new elementary school and quite a bit away from the current Meadowview School.
One thing I will blast the neighbors for; isn’t a residential neighborhood EXACTLY where a school should be built? What use is a school where nobody lives?