"Cutting into Bone"

The Milwaukee Journal Editorial Board once again takes issue with Scott Walker.

It declares:

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's proposed budget for next year would abolish 81 additional full-time county parks jobs. Walker says the parks won't suffer, because the job cuts are part of a broader plan to reorganize parks maintenance operations.

Buy a link hereFor the sake of our parks system, we hope he's right, but we're skeptical. Our parks are already paying the price for chronic cuts in staff and deferred maintenance.

That skepticism is shared by some members of the County Board, who have justifiably chided Walker for refusing to even consider an advisory referendum on raising the county sales tax to produce more revenue for parks.

...[W]e question the wisdom of slashing so many full-time parks maintenance workers in one fell swoop and relying so heavily on seasonal workers. That changing pool of workers will need to be trained and retrained, and valuable institutional memory will be lost.

With the parks already in trouble, now is not the best time for such drastic shifts in staffing.

It was just a few weeks ago that the Journal Sentinel announced that it was "cutting into bone" in its own operations.

Journal Sentinel Inc. said today it is offering employee buyouts in the hope of reducing its work force by 35 to 50 people.

The company said if not enough employees take the offer, an "involuntary program" will be considered.

Elizabeth Brenner, president and chief operating officer of the publishing group of Journal Communications (JRN) Inc., said the employee reductions are necessary because of falling revenue. In recent years, the Journal Sentinel and other newspapers have been losing revenue to Internet-based advertising. She said gains in online advertising at the newspaper aren't strong enough yet to replace traditional advertising revenue.

"It is never easy to call for staff cutbacks, but we must continue to align our cost structure with the realities of reduced revenues in the newspaper industry," Brenner said in a statement to employees.

Read more here.

Sometimes it's necessary to cut into bone. It's not a desired move. It's not easy. But it's necessary for long term viability. It's called dealing with reality.

Once again, the Journal Sentinel Editorial Board exhibits its myopia, and its hypocrisy.

Apparently, what's good for the Journal Sentinel goose ISN'T good for the Milwaukee County gander.