I may have to become a fan of Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, under the maxim that you are known by your enemies.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on an idea introduced by a former Milwaukee County supervisor:

A newly sworn-in lawmaker – and former Milwaukee County Board member – is gaining traction with a plan that would allow voters to cut Milwaukee County Board supervisors’ pay by 70% and slash their budget by 85%. …

A draft of a bill by Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis) obtained by the Journal Sentinel would require a binding referendum to be held in April that would cut the 18 supervisors’ pay to $15,000 a year and limit the County Board’s budget to 0.25% of the county’s total levy. That latter provision would require supervisors to fire almost all their staffs, according to County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic.

“It’s a slap in the face to local control,” Dimitrijevic said. “It’s not about the board or this board. It’s about the million people we represent and democracy.” …

Sanfelippo, who has also backed trimming the size of the county board, said he tried for years to get the board to reform itself, but his ideas were met with resistance.

“It should come as no surprise to anybody,” Sanfelippo said of his effort. “They (on the board) had every opportunity to effectuate some change from within. They didn’t.”

The proposal would reduce supervisors’ pay from the current $50,679 to $15,000. The pay cut would be even greater for Dimitrijevic, who as chairwoman makes more than $71,000.

The proposal would also eliminate supervisors’ ability to collect other benefits they currently receive, such as pensions and health insurance. …

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said Monday he hoped the measure could be passed by the Legislature in time to be put on the April 2 ballot. Abele said that his reasons for seeking the change were not personal and that he wanted to bring Milwaukee County in line with the state’s other counties.

“There’s 72 counties, and there’s only one with a full-time board,” Abele said. “I wouldn’t be doing this or anything else if I didn’t think it was in the best interest of the county.”

Under the proposal, the board’s budget would drop from about $6.5 million to about $1 million, Abele said, a cut Dimitrijevic said would be devastating.

Dimitrijevic said she saw Abele – and the Greater Milwaukee Committee, the civic group that has already been lobbying legislators – as the prime forces behind the measure. Abele, she said, was motivated by an inability to work with the board.

“He seems to not be able to get along with anybody,” she said.

Abele disputed that.

“It doesn’t thrill everybody, but I’ve got a great relationship with Gov. Walker and his cabinet secretaries,” Abele said. “I’ve got a great relationship with (Milwaukee Mayor Tom) Barrett.”

Though aimed at Milwaukee County, Dimitrijevic said the proposal has statewide implications. If lawmakers are willing to force a referendum on the pay of Milwaukee County supervisors, they could easily do the same for the pay of supervisors in other counties. Such a measure would distract lawmakers from their efforts to improve the economy, she said.

Dimitrijevic’s comment should make you roll on the floor laughing. Politicians have done more to harm the economy than improve it, through overtaxation, overregulation, and padding their own nests through excessive pay. benefits and influence for themselves by swelling the size of government.

Wigderson Library & Pub begins:

Somebody forgot to tell Milwaukee County Board Chairman Marina Dimitrijevic that county governments are the creations of the state, and are formed to do the state’s bidding. Maybe if the County Board could have demonstrated that they could be responsible, it might not have come to this. …

Unfortunately, the last two years have been a battle by the Board to protect and expand its turf, and not about making the changes necessary to save taxpayer money while providing services. If the county government is not going to effectively fulfill its mission, it’s time for a change.

The term “local control” is applied, of course, only when advantageous. Dimitrijevic wants to retain “local control” because she doesn’t want the state telling Milwaukee County to do, despite the fact that as the county’s primary source of shared revenue, Lee Dreyfus’ Golden Rule — he who has the gold makes the rules — absolutely applies. Note as well that Dimitrijevic doesn’t trust her own constituents to make what she considers the correct vote should this come to referendum. (The corollary to respect for “local control” is respect for “democracy,” properly defined as “whatever political process produces the result you want.”)

The other point is that the founders of neither this nation nor this state ever intended that we be represented by full-time legislators like Dimitrijevic wants to continue to be. (Nor, for that matter, members of the Milwaukee school board, who are also full-time.) Our elected officials are supposed to serve while living normal lives, and when done serving go back to those lives. Politics is not and should not be a career for anyone. (Yes, that includes members of Congress and state legislators.)

Speaking of “full-time,” I also nearly fell off my chair when I read this:

Milwaukee County had the highest pay for the chair, followed by Waukesha County ($58,586), Grant County ($43,720) and Washington County ($35,820).

For those unfamiliar: Milwaukee County has, of course, Milwaukee. (Dimitrijevic’s pay is about $71,000 too much.) Waukesha County has Waukesha and a bunch of Milwaukee suburbs. Washington County has West Bend. Grant County’s biggest city is Platteville, population 11,000.

The Grant County board chair makes a little less than $1 per county resident. Think that’ll get some local media comment?