Nan Hegerty's Junkets

I didn't think Milwaukee's former police chief Nan Hegerty was very effective.

I was glad when she announced that she would be retiring. I wasn't too thrilled that her goodbye was so extended. It was less than a week into January when she said November 16 would be the date of her departure. Talk about a long exit!

Although I wasn't impressed with her leadership during her four years as chief, I thought she was a decent person, committed and respectable.

I'm rethinking my assessment of her.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

What better way for a top city official to celebrate her retirement than with an eight-day trip to New Orleans?

Only, in the case of former Milwaukee Police Chief Nannette Hegerty, the taxpayers ended up being stuck with the bill.

City records show that Hegerty traveled to the Big Easy on Oct. 11 to 18 for the back-to-back conferences of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Her last day on the job was Nov. 16.

The city tab for Hegerty's trip: $2,578. This was the most expensive of her four out-of-state trips this year.

An agenda for the Major Cities conference was pretty much what you'd expect - a bunch of panel discussions and meetings. It did feature a three-hour event called "A New Orleans Celebration" held at Fulton Street, which is described as "a beautiful outdoor space adjacent to Harrah's Hotel and Casino."

The second conference sounds like more fun. Yes, it had its share of workshops and speakers. But the agenda included a morning golf outing at the Jack Nicklaus-designed English Turn course, a chance to participate in the "Manning Football Experience" - an interactive program involving punting and passing - and a night out at the Superdome experiencing "the tastes and sounds of New Orleans."

The Police Department is so strapped for funds and the city is in a crime crisis, but Hegerty saw fit to have taxpayers pay thousands of dollars for her to take two trips in her final days as police chief.

She was probably cleaning out her desk as she packed for her junkets. She was on her way out.

Why would she stick the citizens of Milwaukee with the bill for her to attend conferences that wouldn't benefit the city?

What an absolute waste!

...Deputy Inspector Mary Hoerig, a Hegerty loyalist, said the trip was worth it.

"Absolutely," Hoerig said. "In the police force, you really learn a lot by learning what other cities are doing and what's worked and what's not working."

A lot of good that will do Milwaukee now that Hegerty is gone. She can probably take what she learned with her to her first consulting gig.

This is really disgusting.

Hegerty used MILWAUKEE'S money for own benefit. She spent her last days on the job abusing her power and position.

It's truly unfortunate that Hegerty chose to go out this way, to soil her legacy, such that it is, by so blatantly ripping off the taxpayers.