The Milwaukee Post

Rep receives $500K toward construction costs In response to the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's announcement that its historic building has experienced sig- nificant settling in recent years necessitating immediate repairs, The Herzfeld Foundation has awarded a one-time $500,000 grant toward construction costs to the theater group. Combined with a previous $250,000 grant from the United Performing Arts Fund and a $75,000 grant from the Bert L. and Patricia S. Steigleder Charitable Trust, along with contributions from several indi- viduals, The Rep says it has secured commitments for more than 50 percent of the $1.75 million in total repair costs. Report: Increase in tax returns encouraging The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance says it is an encouraging sign for the economy that the number of income tax returns filed in Wisconsin has increased by 1.3 percent since 2009. Nearly 2.95 million tax returns were filed for 2012 with an average adjusted gross income of almost $51,000, according to a report release Thursday. The number of returns filed had decreased by about 2 percent from 2007 to 2009. Data for recently filed 2013 returns will not be available for a number of months, according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance report. Other indications of an improving economy include a decrease in the number of fil- ers reporting less than zero income. Many of these returns include unprofitable small businesses, according to the report, and there were more than 71,000 filed in 2009. The number has fallen to 53,500 in 2012, but it is still double the 2006 number of 24,367. The Taxpayer Alliance report also highlights a drop in the number of returns at lower income levels and increases at the higher levels, "suggesting resumption of employment, salary growth and investment earnings." The report notes as well the differences in tax liability under Wisconsin's tax sys- tem. Those with incomes under $30,000, roughly half of all filers, pay 3.5 percent of all taxes. Those with incomes over $100,000 account for 10.9 percent of returns and 58.4 per- cent of taxes. Rogers Memorial to expand West Allis location In an effort to meet the needs of a growing patient base, intensive outpatient pro- grams and partial hospitalization programs at Rogers Memorial Hospital-West Allis will be moving to a new location Monday. The transferred services will be located in a newly renovated 10,800-square-foot expansion at Lincoln Center 1 on South 102nd Street. It includes six treatment-based group rooms, eight consult rooms, family therapy rooms, an art therapy room, a dining area and more space for patients to work on their treatment and recovery, according to the announcement. Programming for general mental health, obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety, eating disorders and addiction will begin at the new location Monday. Plus, a new par- tial program for single-occurrence post-traumatic stress disorder will open on May 19, and another program for young adults with opiate addiction will open later this sum- mer, according to the announcement. Rogers Memorial Hospital is a key corporation of Rogers Behavioral Health System. www.rogershospital.org 4 • Milwaukee County Post • May 9, 2014 WEEK IN REVIEW STATE AND LOCAL STORIES OF INTEREST Johnson introduces NATO legislation U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has joined with fellow Sen.Chris Murphy to introduce legislation aimed at strengthening security cooperation with America's European allies and expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Johnson, R-Oshkosh, and Murphy, D-Connecticut, said the bill reaffirms the United States' commitment to collective defense, puts Congress on record that NATO members should review defense spending to ensure it is sufficient and encourages member countries to bring other countries into the treaty. "This ongoing commitment to mutual defense is crucial to pro- moting stability and peace in Europe," Johnson said. "Recent events in Ukraine should be a reminder of the importance of meeting NATO's defense spending targets and prioritizing spend- ing on efforts that support interoperability. It is equally important that we maintain NATO's open-door policy for countries who meet the high standards and commitments of the world's pre-eminent security alliance," Murphy added. Milwaukee Public Schools get financial literacy grant Gov. Scott Walker announced 26 grants totaling nearly $350,000 have been awarded to schools across Wisconsin to enhance the level of personal finance education. The recip- ients were selected by the Governor's Council on Financial Literacy out of a field of more than 90 applicants. Milwaukee Public Schools received $20,000. It was the only school district in Milwaukee County to receive funding. The program, open to Wisconsin's K-12 public and private schools, is a collaborative effort between the Governor's Council on Financial Literacy, the Department of Financial Institutions, and the Department of Public Instruction. The program is fund- ed by settlement funds received by the DFI over the last couple of years, some of which were designated specifically for financial literacy efforts. The DPI conducted the initial grant review of 92 applicants from throughout the state, and the Governor's Council on Financial Literacy made the final grant recom- mendations. The grant program is designed to support the efforts of individual teach- ers and school districts to begin innovative and sustainable financial literacy programs and events. Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to develop content and per- formance standards to define what students should know about financial literacy. County awarded $755,000 for road project Wisconsin counties will receive almost $10 million in state funds to help complete over 40 county highway improvement projects. The funds are administered through the County Highway Improvement Discretionary program by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Milwaukee County will receive more than $755,000 for the reconstruction of a 1.27-mile stretch of County Highway J (Janesville Road). The CHID provides state funds for high-cost county highway improvement projects totaling $250,000 or more in total eligible costs. Statewide, these projects carry an approx- imate $46.3 million price tag. The CHID program can provide up to 50 percent reim- bursement of total project eligible costs, depending on available funds and the total amount of awards granted. Road improvements typically involve reconstruction or major resurfacing, and must be designed to last at least 10 years. Projects are selected based on recommendations from regional County Highway Improvement Program committees comprised of county highway commissioners from each region. The construction timetable for the CHID projects varies; however, work must be completed in five years. Police chief: Man shot in park was mentally ill Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said a man shot and killed by a police officer April 30 after a struggle at Red Arrow Park had schizophrenia. Flynn identified the man as 31- year-old Dontre Hamilton and said Hamilton had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, had heard voices in his head and had previously attempted suicide. Hamilton had a lengthy arrest record that included armed robbery and disorderly conduct, Flynn said. The officer shot was a 38-year-old male with 13 years of service on the force. Adjusted gross income < $40,000 $40K – $150k $150,000 > Percent of filers 60.7 35.1 4.2 Percent of income 17.4 51.4 31.2 Percent of taxes 8.0 51.0 41.0 Source:Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Johnson U.S. Cellular won't renew arena naming rights U.S. Cellular announced it won't renew its naming-rights sponsorship of the U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee when it expires May 31, according to media reports. The Chicago company did not offer a reason for not renewing the sponsorship in a statement. The Wisconsin Center District owns and operates the arena. U.S. Cellular purchased the naming rights for the arena, originally called the Milwaukee Arena and later the MECCA, in 2000. It renewed the agreement in 2007 for cash payments and wireless services to the Wisconsin Center District totaling more than $2.4 million.

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