Governor’s 2023-25 biennial budget proposal includes plans to promote local housing development and solutions, ensure renters have safe, stable housing |
MADISON — In his 2023-25 biennial budget proposal, Gov. Tony Evers is proposing several initiatives to promote local housing development and affordable housing solutions, as well as a comprehensive, multi-pronged package of initiatives designed to address the unique challenges facing Wisconsin renters, including renovating existing housing, improving rental unit safety, providing legal aid for evictions, and expanding renter protections.
In his 2023-25 Biennial Budget Message, delivered last week, Gov. Evers highlighted a few of these initiatives and the need for quality, affordable housing in order to attract and retain talented workers to bolster Wisconsin’s workforce and continue the state’s economic momentum: “Lack of access to affordable housing will hold our workforce and our economy back. So, we’re going to take a multi-pronged approach to make sure we have safe, reliable, and affordable housing across our state. We’re creating a new Affordable Workforce Housing program with a $150 million investment into local communities to maintain and develop workforce housing across our state. “We also know we can expand housing options in our communities by renovating and restoring housing that’s already available. So, we’re investing $200 million into renovating and restoring existing residential properties, including providing low-interest and forgivable loans to help working families update and remediate lead in their current homes.” In addition to the governor’s investments to develop affordable housing, Gov. Evers recognizes that renters across the state are facing unique challenges and the governor’s budget proposes several updates to ensure folks have safe, affordable housing, including initiatives to help renovate existing housing, improve rental unit safety, provide legal aid for evictions, and expand renter protections. The governor’s budget proposal builds on his previous investments during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure Wisconsinites continued to have access to secure, stable housing. In 2021, Gov. Evers created the Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance (WERA) program, which provided rental and utility payment assistance to lower-income households to prevent evictions and housing instability. The program distributed nearly $250 million to almost 40,000 unique households statewide. With the WERA program concluding, Gov. Evers’ 2023-25 budget, in addition to efforts to make rental units safe and affordable, proposes a bold $60 million investment into civil legal aid, focusing on creating a statewide right to counsel in eviction proceedings. In recent years, there have been countless instances of mothers, individuals with disabilities, survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence, low-income individuals and families, young people and students, aging and older adults, and many others that have been wrongfully evicted, taken advantage of by predatory landlords, and left to live and raise their families in dangerous and unhealthy living conditions. Electrical fires and impacts on renters in the Milwaukee community, for example, have been the ongoing focus of a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation series. Additionally, from 2011 to 2019, the Wisconsin Legislature passed more than 100 changes to landlord-tenant law, including eroding the ability of local governments to enact ordinances regulating the landlord-tenant relationship and hindering the ability of cities like Milwaukee to manage problematic landlords. A breakdown of the governor’s plans to invest in safe, affordable housing for Wisconsin workers and families, including promoting local housing development and solutions and ensuring protections for renters is provided below. Affordable Housing and Neighborhood Development In addition to the $150 million investment in the Neighborhood Investment Fund Grant Program, thegovernor is also proposing to expand access to affordable housing for the workforce by:
Safe, Affordable Rental Units and Housing
As announced on February 12, Gov. Evers is also proposing a comprehensive, multi-pronged package of initiatives designed to address the unique challenges facing Wisconsin renters, including renovating existing housing, improving rental unit safety, providing legal aid for evictions, and expanding renter protections, as detailed below. Upgrade Existing Properties
Additionally, the governor’s budget will provide $7.25 million to create a pilot program for whole-home upgrades within the city of Milwaukee with the goal of reducing energy burdens and creating a healthier living environment for households with lower incomes. Expand Renter Protections
Additionally, Gov. Evers is proposing requiring landlords to disclose to a prospective tenant a building code or housing code violation, regardless of whether the landlord has actual knowledge of the violation, if the violation presents a threat to the prospective tenant’s health and safety.
Expand Civil Legal Aid The governor also proposes expanding the civil legal assistance program at the Department of Children and Families by $1 million over the biennium to include providing legal services related to eviction matters. |
Economy
Gov. Evers Visits Racine, Eau Claire, and Wausau Touting Plan to Send 20 Percent of State’s Sales Tax Back to Local Communities, Fund Essential Services like Public Safety
Governor’s budget promotes public safety by increasing shared revenue, supports EMS providers, invests in recruiting and retaining justice workforce |
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) Secretary Peter Barca, yesterday visited Racine, Eau Claire, and Wausau to highlight the historic investment in shared revenue included in the governor’s 2023-25 biennial budget. As Gov. Evers announced last week during his 2023-25 Biennial Budget Message, his budget proposal will send 20 percent of the state’s sales tax revenue back to local communities for shared revenue to fund essential local services and promote public safety. The governor’s budget announcements come as communities across Wisconsin continue to struggle to address local needs due to years of state disinvestment under previous leadership. The governor’s budget also proposes investing in recruitment and retention efforts for assistant district attorneys and assistant state public defenders, and continuing efforts to bolster Wisconsin’s emergency medical services (EMS) system.
In his 2023-25 Biennial Budget Message, Gov. Evers unveiled his plans to increase the state’s investments in local communities across Wisconsin: “Our local partners have always played a critical role in our work to build an economy and workforce for the future. But let’s be frank: work at the local level over the last decade hasn’t been helped by the fact our local partners have been asked to do more with less. Whether it’s expanding affordable housing, repairing streets, ensuring clean parks and water, safety services like EMS, police, and fire, or supporting local libraries and public health, so much of the hard work in this state happens at the local level. And it’s time for the state to do its part. “Last month, I pledged my support for a budget provision to send 20 percent of the state’s sales tax revenue back to our local communities for shared revenue. And I’m excited to share that our budget includes that proposal, providing more than half a billion dollars more per year in new resources to invest in key priorities like public safety. We have to get this done, folks. “And we’re not just going to fund our local governments—we’re also going to invest in key programs at the state level to help local partners do important work in our communities. …We’re going to make an unprecedented investment into supporting every level of our state’s justice workforce. “Without providing new resources to recruit, retain, and compensate qualified and experienced professionals who are essential to ensuring our justice system functions well, our state—and our partners at the local level—will continue to face a constitutional crisis. We’re going to tackle this issue head-on in this budget. We’re investing nearly $36 million into bolstering our justice workforce, including assistant district attorneys and public defenders, among other key positions. “Investments in our budget like these are critical. The state has to start being a partner in—not an obstacle to—our local communities’ success. The way we’ve been funding our local governments isn’t sustainable. We need to change that. …” As part of statewide tour following the governor’s 2023-25 Biennial Budget Message, Gov. Evers and DOR Secretary Barca visited Racine, Eau Claire, and Wausau in order to meet with local officials and local police, fire, and EMS providers to discuss the dire need for significant increases in shared revenue. During each of the visits, the governor and secretary had a chance to hear from local partners about the challenges they are facing and how the governor’s shared revenue proposal would help address them—from public safety staffing shortages to ensuring clean water to supporting local public health departments. The governor and secretary were joined by Mayor Cory Mason, Chief of Police Maurice Robinson, and State Rep. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) in Racine; City Council President Terry Weld, City Manager Stephanie Hirsch, Fire Chief Christian Bell, State Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick), and State Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) in Eau Claire; and Mayor Katie Rosenberg, Deputy Fire Chief Jeremy Kopp, and Chief of Police Benjamin Bliven in Wausau. A photo of their visit to Racine is available here, photos of their visit to Eau Claire are available here, here, here, and here, and a photo of their visit to Wausau is available here. According to data from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), since 2011, state aid to communities has been cut by more than nine percent, while public safety costs have increased by more than 16 percent. As a result, over the last decade, local communities have been asked to do more with less and have been forced to make difficult decisions to cut critical services, including public safety. Gov. Evers has been clear for four years now that the state must do its part to ensure communities have the resources they need to meet basic and unique needs alike. Gov. Evers’ shared revenue proposal would mean more than half a billion dollars more per year in new resources for local communities to invest in key priorities like local health and human services, transportation, EMS, fire, and law enforcement services, and other challenges facing Wisconsin communities, such as PFAS and district attorney recruitment and retention—the largest increase in aid to municipalities and counties in decades. This commitment will ensure communities see growth in shared revenue in the future after years of state investment not keeping up with communities’ needs. The governor’s budget provisions build on his previous efforts to increase shared revenue for local governments. In both of Gov. Evers’ previous biennial budgets, he proposed increasing shared revenue payments by two percent annually. Unfortunately, legislative Republicans repeatedly rejected these efforts and, in fact, passed legislation that would have further reduced shared revenue payments to counties and municipalities, which the governor vetoed. In his 2021-23 biennial budget proposal, Gov. Evers also proposed allowing municipalities with populations over 30,000 to impose a 0.5 percent sales tax to diversify local revenue sources and better empower local governments to fund public safety. This was also rejected by Republicans in the Legislature. Gov. Evers is committed to ensuring the state fulfills its obligation to fund local communities—the state, economy, and workforce depend on these investments. In addition to supporting increased shared revenue for local communities, Gov. Evers has directly invested more than $100 million in violence prevention and community safety statewide, including directing $14 million in funding to Milwaukee County to expand their courthouse operations and reduce the backlog of cases in their criminal division by increasing the number of criminal cases that can be heard by supporting staffing for the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, the State Public Defender, the Milwaukee Clerk of Courts, and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. The governor has also allocated $5.5 million for the State Public Defender and $5.7 million to district attorney offices to ensure they have the staffing resources they need. These investments come as communities across the state have struggled to recruit and retain employees, including in Wisconsin’s justice system, which has grappled with low pay and high vacancies in recent years. The State Bar of Wisconsin recently noted that the state is approaching a constitutional crisis because of low compensation for state prosecutors and assistant public defenders. Finally, delivering on the promise he made during his 2022 State of the State address, since February 2022, Gov. Evers has invested more than $69 million to support and stabilize Wisconsin’s EMS systems and providers. Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health reported that approximately 41 percent of Emergency Medical Service providers in the state are staffed by six or fewer people, with 21 percent being run by just two or three staff members. Additionally, according to a recent survey by the Wisconsin State Fire Chief’s Association, 10 communities reported one 911 call that was never responded to because there was no staffed ambulance to send. Between rising costs and a lack of available staffing, some communities have had to go without ambulance services, left with no other option but to hope and rely upon neighboring providers. To help address these challenges, Gov. Evers had directed funding to EMS providers across the state, especially in rural communities, for whatever they need most to continue serving their communities, including staffing support, training for first responders, or purchasing new supplies, medical equipment, and vehicles. As part of the governor’s overall investment in EMS, he directed $8 million in one-time supplemental funding for the Funding Assistance Program (FAP), as well as $32 million through the EMS Flex Grant Program to help fill the gap for those providers who were otherwise not eligible for FAP funding. Gov. Evers’ 2023-25 budget proposal includes $150 million to continue the EMS Flex Grant Program. A list of the governor’s proposals to improve public safety by increasing shared revenue, investing in additional resources for assistant district attorneys, assistant state public defenders, and state attorneys, and supporting EMS services in communities across the state is available below: Investing in Communities
The attached distributions provide initial estimates of what communities would receive under the governor’s shared revenue plan, but final distribution amounts will be estimated to reflect the latest information submitted by communities before payments are made in 2024. Estimated distributions by municipality are available here. Estimated distributions by county are available here. Local Option Sales Tax
Justice System Workforce Initiatives To bolster the justice system workforce and ensure qualified and experienced professionals can tackle the issues facing Wisconsin, Gov. Evers’ 2023-25 budget makes a nearly $36 million investment into compensation for assistant district attorneys, deputy district attorneys, assistant state public defenders, state attorneys, and elected district attorneys to bring them to a more competitive starting wage and provide pay progression. Specifically, the governor’s budget proposal prioritizes recruitment and retention efforts by providing:
In addition, the governor’s budget includes measures to provide additional staff to the different components of the justice system, which is vital to ensuring reasonable caseloads, reducing burnout, and meeting constitutional protections for justice-involved individuals. The governor’s budget supports these efforts by creating:
Finally, to boost the ability to recruit and retain private bar attorneys who accept State Public Defender appointments, Gov. Evers proposed providing $21.6 million over the biennium to further increase the private bar reimbursement rate from $70 to $100. Supporting and Stabilizing Wisconsin EMS
Statutory Changes In 2022, Gov. Evers signed 2021 Wisconsin Act 228, creating an ambulance service provider assessment program to provide supplemental reimbursement. Gov. Evers’ 2023-25 budget creates statutory language to implement the assessment provisions of this Act. In 2021, Gov. Evers also signed 2021 Wisconsin Act 29, which expanded worker’s compensation to cover PTSD for firefighters and law enforcement. Gov. Evers knows that while this was a critical first step, Wisconsin’s EMS providers are maintaining a declining workforce that increases caseloads and puts strain on remaining personnel and surviving provider organizations. As PTSD escalates for critical EMS providers, the state must expand its worker’s compensation coverage in line with law enforcement and firefighters. That is why Gov. Evers’ budget creates statutory language removing barriers that currently prevent first responders with PTSD from receiving worker’s compensation. |
Mayor Cavalier Johnson Tours Agricultural Maritime Export Facility at Port Milwaukee with The DeLong Co., Inc.
This is the largest one-time investment in Port Milwaukee history since the 1950s
MILWAUKEE – Mayor Cavalier Johnson toured the development site for the agricultural maritime export facility at Port Milwaukee. Mayor Johnson was joined by Port officials, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and representatives from The DeLong Co., Inc. to view the progress of this major investment that will create jobs, support Wisconsin’s agriculture industry, and grow the regional economy.
“Milwaukee is the economic engine for our state and region, and this addition to the Port’s operations will expand a strong partnership that includes The DeLong Co., the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin agriculture, and world markets,” said Mayor Johnson. “Thank you to our many partners for advancing this continued growth at Port Milwaukee. I am looking forward to this facility becoming operational in the near future.”
“We want to thank the city of Milwaukee for their partnership on this project. We look forward to becoming part of the community,”said Bo DeLong, Vice President of Grain, The DeLong Co., Inc.
“Port Milwaukee is an integral link in the Wisconsin economy. In this case, we are connecting Wisconsin farmers, growers, and producers with new international markets,” said Interim Port Milwaukee Director Jackie Q. Carter. “The combined support from local, state, and federal officials affirms the importance of this new asset on Jones Island. The development of this facility at Port Milwaukee is a great addition to the city’s marine commerce, and I’m excited to witness the benefits it will create for our maritime economy.”
The facility, located on the west side of Jones Island, will be one of the first on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway (GLSLS) system to handle various agricultural commodities via truck, rail and international vessel, including Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGs). DDGs are an animal feed supplement derived as a byproduct of ethanol that is high in nutrients. This facility will open Wisconsin’s maritime and agricultural economies to new international markets for this and other products. Future service at the facility may also include the export of Wisconsin-grown soybeans, corn and grain.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has estimated the DeLong terminal will alone generate $63 million in new statewide economic impact annually, increasing exports through Port Milwaukee by as much as 400,000 metric tons per year.
Thanks to a robust public-private partnership, this development is the largest one-time investment in Port Milwaukee since the 1950s, when the St. Lawrence Seaway was being built. Port Milwaukee was one of the first nationwide grant recipients of the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Additional facility funding has been provided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Port Milwaukee, and The DeLong Co., Inc. Overall construction costs are currently estimated at approximately $40 million.
About Port Milwaukee
Port Milwaukee is an economic entity of City government governed by the seven-member Board of Harbor Commissioners, a panel appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council. It administers operations on the 467 acres that make up the Port. It promotes shipping and commerce throughout the region by providing access to domestic and international ships, rail, and over-the-road transportation. Learn more at portmilwaukee.com.
About The DeLong Co., Inc.
The DeLong Co., Inc. is a 6th generation, family-owned business that is headquartered in Clinton, WI. The company operates 37 locations around the U.S. and comprises six divisions of agricultural and logistical sales and services: grain, exports, agronomy, seed, transportation and wholesale feed. The DeLong Co., Inc is the largest U.S. exporter of containerized agricultural products. Learn more at delongcompany.com.
SDC Hosting the 2022 Earned Income Tax Credit Event for Milwaukee
The SDC Tax Assistance program VITA supports low income families with filing taxes, Earned Income Tax Credit and managing their finances.
The Social Development Commission (SDC) is hosting the 2022 National Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Awareness Day, this Friday January 27, 2023 starting 9.00 am. The EITC Day is part of an annual program where low-income earners receive tax preparation services to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The event will be held at the SDC Southwest Office on 9004 W. Lincoln Ave. 53227, in West Allis.
The EITC helps low to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. Individuals who qualify can use the credit to reduce the taxes they owe – and maybe increase their refund. The amount of one’s credit may change if they have children, dependents, if they are disabled or meet other criteria.
SDC administers a free Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for individuals earning $58,000 or less, through the VITA program which provides free tax preparation services that can help keep you from paying between $200-$600 for a tax return service. It helps residents save money and overcome the challenges of working with for-profit tax preparers, including navigating some of the latest tax law changes.
Dr. George Hinton, CEO at SDC says, “Many residents use that money to put down payments for their homes. They may need to purchase a car for transportation especially given that we are trying to put people into a work environment but they need transportation.” He sees this as an opportunity for individuals and families to keep more money for themselves and their dreams. With support from the IRS the SDC encourages people to turn up because VITA supports people with back taxes for multiple years and help navigate some of the latest tax law changes.
With support from IRS, United Way of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Department of Revenue, SDC provides Milwaukee residents help with filing back taxes for multiple years. All applicants will be required to come with Valid photo ID, Social Security Cards and wait to receive their W2s income statements. SDC will offer the services in the SDC North office, SDC Teutonia, SDC Northwest, SDC Southside.
Access to tax refunds have provided beneficiaries with economic relief and a chance at building their credit score. The SDC VITA program has won accolades including a ‘Flag of the United States’ flown over the United States Capitol in recognition of the Social Development Commission’s commitment to community and economic justice.
BBB Tip: Data privacy
Quite a bit of personal information is already shared on the internet by cell phones, tablets, laptops or any other device that connects through wifi or an internet provider. These access points make it easier to shop, bank, make travel arrangements, and keep in touch with friends or family. When online, safeguard your information to help avoid scams, fraud, and identity theft. Periodically, it is a good idea to review who has your information. The Better Business Bureau and the National Cyber Security Alliance offer the following tips to help secure the privacy of critical information:
- Share with care. Posts on social media last a long time. Consider who will see the post, how it might be perceived by readers, and what information it might reveal about the individual posting it.
- Manage privacy settings. Check the privacy and security settings on web services and apps and set them to your comfort level for information sharing. Each device, application or browser used will have different features to limit how and with whom you share information.
- Personal info is like money: Value it. Protect it. Personal information, such as purchase history, IP address, or location, has tremendous value to businesses – just like money. Make informed decisions about whether or not to share data with certain businesses by considering the amount of personal information they are asking for, and weighing it against the benefits you may receive in return.
- Make your passwords long and strong. Use long passwords with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols – eight characters for most accounts, twelve characters for email and financial accounts. Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts, especially email and financial. Keep a paper list of your passwords in a safe place, not on or near your computer. Consider using a password vault application. See BBB’s tips for creating a strong password.
- Keep tabs on apps. Many apps ask for access to personal information, such as geographic location, contacts list and photo album, before using their services. Be thoughtful about who gets that information, and wary of apps that require access to information that is not required or relevant for the services they are offering. Delete unused apps on your internet-connect devices and keep others secure by performing updates.
- Lock down your login. For your online accounts, use the strongest authentication tools available. Your user names and passwords are not enough; consider two-factor authentication for key accounts like email, banking, and social media, especially for access on mobile devices.
- Don’t click on unfamiliar links. Whether at home or at work, don’t click on links from unfamiliar sources or unexpected correspondence. One false click can infect a whole computer… or a whole business.
- Pay attention to internet-connected devices. Smart thermostats, voice control systems, cars, even refrigerators are just the beginning of the growing list of devices that watch our homes and track our location. Read the privacy policy and understand what data is being collected and how it will be used. Read BBB’s tips on smart devices and cyber security risks.
Charitable organizations should be aware of data privacy. Donors and others communicate online with charities via their websites, emails and other online means and need to be informed about what policies are in place to address privacy concerns. BBB Wise Giving Alliance published a blog article containing advice for charities regarding data privacy concerns.
For more information:
See BBB’s Cybersecurity Resources page.
Check out the National Cyber Security Alliance’s Privacy Tips, including special information for teens, parents, older adults, mobile users, and more.
Businesses can learn more about BBB’s tips for improved cybersecurity.
For an online version of the story click here
Residents are the heart of MKE and city officials want to hear their input throughout February
Residents are being asked to share their love for Milwaukee by sharing their input on how they think the remaining $92.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding should be spent – during three upcoming public input meetings in February.
Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, chair of the city’s ARPA Funding Allocation Task Force, said residents should attend one or more of the following public input meetings:
- Saturday, February 4 from 10:00 a.m.-noon
– Riverworks, 526 E. Concordia Ave.
- Saturday, February 11 from 10:00 a.m.-noon
– Mitchell Street Library, 906 W. Historic
Mitchell St. Bilingual Spanish Session
- Wednesday, February 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
– Virtual meeting: bit.ly/ARPA2023
Alderwoman Coggs said members of the public are invited to provide testimony on what they would like to see ARPA funds used for to solve issues and improve their neighborhoods, and noted that testimony may be limited in duration at the discretion of the task force.
Additionally, members of the public are invited to also provide input via an online survey as follows:
-More-
Listening sessions/ADD ONE
https://engagemke.com/arp/survey_english/
https://engagemke.com/arp/survey_spanish
https://engagemke.com/arp/survey_hmong
“This once-in-a-generation funding has included money for unemployment assistance, child care help, small businesses, health care and more — especially for those communities hardest hit by the crisis that was brought on by the (COVID-19) pandemic,” the alderwoman said. “These input meetings will provide a prime opportunity for residents to provide ideas and priorities for how the city should spend this important remaining tranche for ARPA funding.”
A quorum of ARPA Funding Allocation Task Force members may or may not be present. In the event of no quorum, no action other than information gathering will be taken.
Reasonable accommodations provided for persons with disabilities upon request. Call 414-286-3475 or email [email protected].
Biden-Harris Tout Record Small Business Growth; President Says ‘Best Days Ahead’
The U.S. SBA administrator, Isabella Guzman, stated that the rate of new business applications in 2022 was slightly lower than in 2021, but still showed excellent growth under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Recent Census numbers show that the Biden-Harris administration set a new high for the number of new small businesses created.
The U.S. SBA administrator, Isabella Guzman, stated that the rate of new business applications in 2022 was slightly lower than in 2021, but still showed excellent growth under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to Guzman, “Small business applications hit a high of 10.5 million since the start of this administration, the largest in any two years in our nation’s history.”
The report’s authors state, “Steady and consistent growth, as well as unprecedented investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, and R&D, present enormous prospects for America’s entrepreneurs.”
Small businesses, Biden said in a statement, are “the engines of our economy and the heartbeat of our communities.”
According to data released on Jan. 17, “we learned that my first two years in office have been the two greatest years for new small company applications, with more than 10 million total new businesses created,” Biden noted.
The president added that the news provides more evidence that his economic plan is helping to strengthen the middle class and the economy as a whole.
Guzman said that tens of thousands of businesses were struggling to stay operational when Biden was elected.
According to her, Americans have been creating businesses and employment at unprecedented rates since the economic recovery began.
Guzman claimed that “the SBA and the Biden-Harris Administration continue to retool vital federal small business support programs and services to expand access to capital, provide much-needed trusted networks for technical assistance and training, and help America’s entrepreneurs seek new revenue opportunities from transformational legislation,” such as the president’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Biden said there are reasons for economic confidence all around the country because of the historically low unemployment rate and the two strongest years of job growth in history.
He stated that revitalizing America’s infrastructure and supply networks would be essential in the long-term success of the country’s small companies.
The president called House Republicans “sad” because they have made defending affluent tax cheats their main legislative goal.
He argued that his plan to crack down on corporations that cheat on their taxes will also help level the playing field for small businesses.
“I will continue to work with anybody from either party, in Congress or in the states, to implement my economic agenda and build our economy from the bottom up and middle out. And I am convinced America’s best days are ahead,” Biden said.
Food is a Human Right
Hunger persists in Wisconsin. Throughout the pandemic, a good deal of federal financial assistance streamed to states and communities to address the pandemic’s impact on unemployment, supply chain interruptions and inflation.
Free food provided by charities won’t solve lasting hunger. Hunger Task Force has distributed tens of millions of pounds of food each year since the start of the pandemic, yet the problem of hunger across Wisconsin persists.
Ending hunger in Wisconsin, a state that produces far more food than its citizenry can consume, shouldn’t be that difficult. Still, in Milwaukee the incidence of poverty is 18.3%, and where there is poverty, hunger follows.
This is not just a Milwaukee problem. From far north in Ashland County where the poverty rate is 16.1%, or Grant County in the southwest where 15.1% of folks live in poverty, hunger affects every region of our state: urban, rural and remote.
There is an existing solution that can feed people today, tomorrow and next year. The solution is called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. SNAP provides low-income households struggling to make ends meet with food buying power each month until they are back on their feet. This 100% federally funded program has been around for decades—we used to call it “Food Stamps.”
In Wisconsin, SNAP is called FoodShare. FoodShare has been criticized in the past as creating dependency. People who got FoodShare were suspected of drug use and work avoidance. But when the pandemic hit and record numbers of Wisconsinites lost their jobs, they turned to FoodShare to get help with food. Suddenly almost everyone knew someone who needed FoodShare—a brother, a friend, a co-worker.
FoodShare not only fed people during the pandemic, but it stimulated our agricultural and food producing economy. Farmers, food producers, grocery store workers and truck drivers became essential workers and people buying food helped them to continue working. FoodShare also has an economic multiplying effect. Did you know that every dollar in FoodShare spent multiplies to between $1.22 and $1.50, and over 95% of benefits are redeemed at stores and markets? FoodShare creates jobs and supports the local food economy.
It’s time to re-think how people with limited cash reserves put food on the table and the impact this program has on our local economy. The time to act is now. Let’s fully enroll the FoodShare program and end the stress of being hungry in the Dairy State.
Written by Sherrie Tussler, Executive Director, Hunger Task Force
Framing Our Future: Liberty Bank Celebrates 50 Years
By Anitra D. Brown | The New Orleans Tribune
Alden J. McDonald and his son Todd have at least two things in common. The first is that neither saw himself as a bank president. In fact, Alden McDonald says it took a novena and Dr. Norman Francis asking him three times to become the president of what would be the newly founded Liberty Bank & Trust before he said “yes.”
“I didn’t’ know whether I was prepared to run a bank.” Alden McDonald once told The New Orleans Tribune. “No one else had walked that plank.”
The truth – he was ready. A graduate of the LSU School of Banking and of Columbia University’s Commercial Banking Management Program, McDonald began his career at International City Bank in New Orleans in 1966, rising to the position of vice president for consumer lending. And during those six years, he zealously learned all he could about the industry, working 12- to 14-hour days.
International City Bank didn’t want him to leave, offering him a senior vice president position to urge him to stay, he says. Instead, he followed advice given to him by the young lady he was dating at the time, Rhesa Ortique, whom he went on to marry. She was the one who suggested he go to a novena in search of guidance and direction.
“So, I did the novena, and I made the decision to do this, right. I am 29 at the time, and to be honest with you, I didn’t know what the hell I was thinking.”
In contrast, it didn’t take a special prayer service for Todd McDonald to know he wanted to be his own boss one day; still, he didn’t see banking in his future. The enterprising youngster, who washed his parents’ friends’ cars while they visited to make extra money, always saw himself as a businessman. However, he thought banking was static and that it would not offer the diverse opportunities he wanted to experience… that was until he had the opportunity to shadow one of his father’s friends, Joe Canizaro, the founder of First Bank & Trust. It was then he realized there was more to banking than, well, banking.
“He brought me into meetings, and I saw how he used the bank as a platform to go into many different businesses. I mean he was building a city in Mississippi; he had the hospitality company; he had a construction company; health care — all these different businesses. And I was like, so you could run a bank and have all of these tentacles out there at the same time. Okay, I would never get tired of doing this.”
At the time, a younger Todd McDonald didn’t really see his father doing all of that at Liberty; but he understood why.
“It was for obvious reasons — a lack of capital,” he says. “I’m sure he could have ventured off in many different ways, as well. But that experience provided me with a vision for myself. How do we leverage a bank charter? You know, I’ve been around my dad for 41 years; but I’ve only been employed with the bank for 19. I heard the stories about him helping people. And so, I’m like, you know, once you start applying the ‘helping people’ with the ‘making money’ and ‘helping other people make money’, it was an easy sell. I’ve dedicated my life to this. I wake up thinking about it. I go to sleep thinking about it.”
And with that, the other thing father and son have in common is that despite each man’s initial misgivings, running a bank is precisely what he has done or is doing.
With his son’s rise to bank president, Alden McDonald, continues to serve as the head of the Liberty Financial Holding Company.
It’s Always Been Huge
The elder McDonald, served as president & CEO of Liberty Bank from its founding in 1972, leading and growing the Black-owned bank for the better part of 50 years until earlier this year, when his son Todd, a Morehouse College graduate who earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, picked up the mantle to lead Liberty into the future.
The pair took a little time to catch up with The New Orleans Tribune recently to talk about what is now the nation’s largest Black-owned bank. Sitting at a table in the community room of the bank’s headquarters in New Orleans East, the elder McDonald began by mentioning a significant milestone Liberty Bank reached in recent years – $1 billion dollars in assets.
“It was his idea, not mine,” he says with proud smile and a little laughter, nodding in Todd’s direction.
Todd chimes in through the laughter, “That’s what we have to do as a bank to survive. If we don’t get bigger, the cost of operating just gets bigger and you can’t manage the expense side. So, it was very important for us to reach that milestone.”
“It’s a lot of money,” Alden McDonald says. “How many other people do we know that have a billion-dollar company? How many in the city of New Orleans. Just, when you think about it… the significance of it. It’s… it’s…
“Huge,” Todd interjects, finishing the sentence his father started.
“Huge,” Alden McDonald repeats reflectively. “You know, Todd and I, we talked five years ago when he took a real an active role at the bank. He was in charge of strategic planning and visioning. And his vision went beyond my wildest dreams. When he was pushing for a billion dollars, he was looking to make sure we could survive in the banking industry. When I got in the banking industry, there were 35,000 banks. Today, there are less than 5,000 banks. When I got into the business, there were 100 Black banks. Today, there are less than 20. Everything in the industry says a $200 million bank is not going to survive. A $500 million bank is not going to survive. So the benchmark he came up with was a billion.”
The achievement took more than just reaching $1 billion in assets. As Alden McDonald explains, in the banking industry, the rule of thumb is an eight percent capital to asset ratio. In banking terms, capital is the total equity a company has — assets minus liability.
“And then, a couple of years ago, the feds started sending signals. They wanted a 10 percent ratio,” the senior McDonald says.
When Liberty set out to grow to a billion in assets it only had about $60 million in equity. It needed at least $90 million.
It was Todd, who, while serving as Liberty’s executive vice president of corporate strategy, developed national partnerships that produced several new revenue streams that raised $30 million in capital for the bank.
All of this was taking place over the last few years with the pandemic as a backdrop and in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, events that prompted shifts in the nation, one of which included a bit of pressure put on the big boys of banking to help minority banks grow.
And Liberty’s plan for raising the equity it needed to support its growth was realized.
“If it was me, I would asked JP Morgan for $5 million, Citibank for $5 million, Wells Fargo for $5 million and Bank of America for $5 million. Todd goes in, he asks JP Morgan for $30 million. I said, ‘boy, you’re crazy?’ They ended up giving $18 million. Wells gave $5 million. Citi gave $5 million. Bank of America gave $2 million,” the elder McDonald recounts. “I would have been pleased with whatever; but because of the young mind and the young vision, he ended up getting $30 million of non-voting capital. Non-voting. It does not dilute one bit of ownership,”
Perhaps the only thing huger than Liberty Bank reaching that milestone – more than $1 billion in assets the equity to back it up – is the force the bank has been for its customers in New Orleans and across the country.
Even when its assets weren’t, Liberty’s impact has been huge from the start.
Forging a Path to Financial Freedom
If Alden McDonald wasn’t ready to lead a Black-owned bank in 1972, Black New Orleans was ready for one.
Beginning in the early 1960s, Alden McDonald and Dr. Norman Francis saw a Black community growing increasingly dissatisfied with inequity and looking for increased opportunity, especially on the economic front. They wanted mortgage loans and loans to start businesses or launch political campaigns without higher interest rates or resorting to subprime finance companies. And if they couldn’t find what they wanted in the mainstream banking industry, they would have to create their own.
That is why Francis asked a young Alden McDonald to leave his comfortable job and start his own bank not once, not twice, but three times — there was a need for a bank that would help more Black New Orleanians and other under-served members of the community achieve their dreams.
Liberty Bank was one of 42 African American-owned banks to open in the U.S. between 1962 and 1979, according to the National Bankers Association. They opened to serve communities that had been all but shut out of the mainstream. When the other banks refused to loan African Americans money or loaned it to them at extraordinarily high interest rates, Black-owned banks were there; and their influence was tangible from the very early history.
There is no telling how many Black New Orleanians own homes and operate businesses because Liberty Bank exists.
Norman Francis once said, “We had a dream to do something special in New Orleans. We started a community bank with a focus on an under-served population.”
From a construction trailer on Tulane Avenue, Liberty now has branches in 11 states and the cyber ability to conduct banking operations nationwide. Liberty Bank has withstood natural disasters and weathered national and regional financial crises. It has not only existed for 50 years, it has thrived. From $2 million in assets in 1972 to the largest African American-owned financial institution in the United States.
More importantly, here in New Orleans, and in other cities across the country, Liberty has helped individuals achieve their financial goals and financial freedom. That is what is meant by “Framing Our Future”, the theme of the bank’s 50-year anniversary.
Big Things Popping
The bank is also a player in helping business owners and investors make major moves. On the day The Tribune met with the McDonalds, they were gearing up for a meeting with a customer about a major project in downtown Minneapolis — the redevelopment of a one-million-square-foot building, Alden McDonald tells.
Financing those types of multi-million-dollar endeavors have become common practice for Liberty Bank.
Just before the pandemic, Alden McDonald says the bank launched a new loan product designed specifically to help African American business owners get into the airport concessions business.
“We were lending money to African Americans with airport contracts,” he says. “Now, we got in it at the wrong time, but we still made out pretty good. We loaned about $30 million to business owners with concessions in airports in New York, New Jersey, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Chicago. We had them all over. It’s helped those businesses grow their capital. When you grow capital, you can hire more people, more Black people. So, the whole pie grows. Despite the pandemic, we only had a problem with one loan and we didn’t lose any money.”
Then there is the project in Houston.
“The mayor in Houston has put together a housing effort there to build maybe 500 homes using all Black folks — the contractors, the developers. And we are financing them. We think that’s going to be a real big signature project with anywhere between $30 million and $50 million in financing from us. And we do a little bit more than just lend the money. For example, this one developer didn’t have much experience, so we put them in touch with another developer we were financing in Houston to partner with him. Then the city gave him a contract that wasn’t to his advantage. So, when we read it, in putting his package together, we said, ‘this ain’t gonna work’. So we helped him to go back to the city, had the city to rework his contract where it made sense and protected him from losing money.”
There are other examples. Too many to include in a single article.
In addition to banking, Liberty has its own insurance agency and a heavy equipment leasing company. It also recently launched its own commercial insurance brokerage firm.
“We intend to be the largest Black-owned commercial insurance brokerage in the country in the next five years,” Alden McDonald says. “What does that mean? It means we are starting another company that will employ additional people. We are going to be able to help other companies in that business to write bigger policies. There is a network of smaller Black-owned commercial insurance brokers across the country, and we are going to help those businesses create more jobs and grow Black wealth. And we’re going to make some money. I always say that you can’t do good, if you don’t do well.”
And if Liberty Bank has its way, it will be doing both well and good into the future.
“We don’t plan on taking another 50 years to reach another $1 billion in assets. He plans on getting there in the next five years,” Alden says, again nodding at Todd.
“My perspective is we have a long runway,” says Todd. “I mean, we have decades ahead of us. You know, it is a lot of work and we’re just taking it step by step. We know organizationally, we can’t be everything to everybody. So, we’ve got to choose our lane and commit to it. We have an amazing underwriting muscle. As my dad mentioned earlier, typically Black-owned institutions didn’t have access to capital. So, the focus is what did we do the first 50 years and how do we leverage that to do it bigger the next 50 years.”
And while Liberty certainly has big things popping, it continues to provide access to basic financial services such as personal checking and savings accounts and multi-faceted products for both individuals and small businesses.
Even as it celebrates 50 years and touts more than a $1 billion in assets, helping everyday people achieve financial freedom is still a primary focus of the bank, says Todd McDonald.
In fact, the smallest loan Liberty offers is $500, it’s the sort of small dollar loan at a low interest rate that Liberty provides to customers to keep them from falling prey to predatory lenders like those in the payday loan industry.
“That’s the least amount of money you can borrow. But to me, that’s the most important product that we have,” says Todd. “I don’t say that a lot, but I prefer to help the average person get out of debt. If I can help someone consolidate from $1,000 a month in payments down to $300 a month in payments, saving them $700 dollars a month, it’s better than making a $1 million loan to me. Now if we repeat that and get a 1,000 people at a time refinancing debt, that’s $700,000 a month back into the pockets of people that look like you and me. Then, we could have the same thousand people start to buy their own homes. Now, if we coordinate efforts like that across the country, we could really pick up some ground. it’s off to the races from that standpoint. So, we’re not just looking at big transactions.”
Celebrating 50 Years with a Golden Jubilee
Liberty Bank’s story of resilience, profitability and empowerment was showcased on Friday, Dec. 2, at Liberty’s “Golden Jubilee” celebration at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. The event was produced by Bright Moments, LLC and was directed by celebrated theater icon Tommye Myrick.
Norman Robinson and Sally Ann Roberts narrated the event that explored the unique role Liberty Bank has played in closing the wealth gap in America. The evening featured song, dance, spoken word and visual renderings that tell the story the African American experience.
The show was led by the musical arrangements of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Grammy award winner Adonis Rose and featured Irma Thomas, Leah Chase, Jr., Chase Kamata, Sharon Martin, Phillip Manuel, John Boutte, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, the Mystics, the Franklin Avenue Male Chorus, the C Sharpe Gospel Ensemble, the Kia Knight Dance Ensemble, Stilt Walkers, African Drummers, Harold Evans, Gwendolyn Foxworth, Lady Tambourine, Erica Falls, Peteh the Poet, and a host of others.
The post Framing Our Future: Liberty Bank Celebrates 50 Years appeared first on The New Orleans Tribune.
Texas Judge Stops President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Program
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
A federal judge in Texas bent to the will of a few and struck down President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program that offered relief to at least 40 million borrowers.
The conservative group, Job Creators Network Foundation, filed the lawsuit against the plan on behalf who two individuals who didn’t qualify for relief under Biden’s program.
There remains another legal challenge to the plan.
“We strongly disagree with the District Court’s ruling on our student debt relief program, and the Department of Justice has filed an appeal,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“The President and this Administration are determined to help working and middle-class Americans get back on their feet, while our opponents – backed by extreme Republican special interests – sued to block millions of Americans from getting much-needed relief,” she stated.
White House officials maintain that the secretary of education received power from Congress to discharge student loan debt under the 2003 HEROES Act.
“The program is thus an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power and must be vacated,” wrote Judge Mark Pittman, a Donald Trump nominee.
“In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone,” he continued.
Under the president’s plan, borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 annually in those years are eligible to have up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt forgiven.
If a qualifying borrower also received a federal Pell grant, the individual would receive as much as $20,000 of debt forgiveness.
In October, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals placed an administrative hold on Biden’s forgiveness program based on a suit filed by six GOP-led states.
In the most recent case in Texas, one plaintiff did not qualify for the student loan forgiveness program because the federal government does not hold her loans.
The other plaintiff is only eligible for $10,000 in debt relief because he did not receive a Pell grant.
They argued that they could not voice their disagreement with the program’s rules because the administration did not put it through a formal notice-and-comment rule-making process under the Administrative Procedure Act.
“This ruling protects the rule of law which requires all Americans to have their voices heard by their federal government,” said Elaine Parker, president of the Job Creators Network Foundation, in a statement.
CNN reported that major Trump donor and former Home Depot CEO Bernie Marcus founded Job Creators Network Foundation.