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Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a referendum on cutting Milwaukee County supervisors' pay by half and eliminating their future health and pension benefits.

With all of the votes counted, the measure easily won with 71% for the move and 29% against.

The strong backing for the cuts matched many predictions that voters would jump at the chance to enact the reductions. An advisory-only referendum on the topic in 2012 conducted in a dozen suburban communities resulted in strong support for converting Milwaukee County supervisor to a part-time job.

County Executive Chris Abele said, "I'm happy the voters of Milwaukee County had their voice heard on this important issue and I look forward to continuing to work with the board."

Supervisor Willie Johnson Jr., who opposed the pay cut, said the strong voter support was the culmination of a decade of effort to push conservative reforms.

"I still think the idea is to get conservative-minded people, fund their campaigns, get them on the board and try to rubber stamp the conservative agenda," Johnson said.

The changes from Tuesday's binding vote don't go into effect for two years — after the 2016 county supervisor elections. Supervisors' pay then will drop from $50,679 to $24,051, effectively forcing part-time status on them. The chairman's pay will go from $71,412 to $36,076.

Supervisors also will lose their county health insurance and won't get any additional credit toward a county pension.

Part-time status was the point of the pay-cut plan, according to backers of the measure.

"It focuses a part-time board on what should be their primary job of setting policy and approving the budget and moving away from their current practice, which has been to become overly involved in administrative minutiae," said Joe Rice. He's a former county supervisor and treasurer of Forward Milwaukee County, an advocacy group that pushed for a yes vote.

State Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis) said a part-time board also should encourage "a wider variety of people who will run for these jobs."

County Board and committee meetings may switch to evenings with a part-time board, said Sanfelippo, the main author of the state law passed last year that ordered the referendum. That would allow people with full-time jobs to also serve on the board, something that hasn't been possible with daytime meetings, he said.

Night meetings would follow the example of most other local government in the state and make it easier for the public to attend, he said.

Supervisor Peggy Romo West said the change will lead to a weaker board that won't be able to provide an effective counterbalance to the county executive.

As part-timers, some supervisors will be forced to take other jobs, leaving less time to devote to county issues, she said. The change might turn the County Board into "a rubber stamp on the county budget," ratifying the county executive's proposal without the needed amount of scrutiny, Romo West said.

The change could also lead to a narrowing of diversity on the board, said Romo West, Milwaukee County's first Hispanic supervisor.

The campaigns on the pay-cut referendum were low-key. Forward Milwaukee County aired radio ads promoting a "yes" vote. The group was aiming for a budget of more than $100,000.

The Milwaukee Area Labor Council sponsored a mailing to union members, encouraging a "no" vote. Johnson placed ads in weekly newspapers calling for voters to reject the ballot question.

Milwaukee County supervisors will continue to be the highest paid in the state, even with their lower pay. Backers of the pay cut said the reduction would bring Milwaukee County supervisor pay closer to that of other supervisors in Wisconsin.

Opponents said the higher pay was justified because Milwaukee County is far larger, with greater and more complicated problems, than other counties in the state. They also note Milwaukee County supervisors represent more constituents than their counterparts in smaller Wisconsin counties.

The lower compensation will save the county taxpayers nearly $500,000 a year.

The binding referendum on County Board pay and benefits was ordered by a state law passed last year reducing the powers and budget of the board. That law forced $2.5 million in budget reductions on the board this year, accomplished mostly through staff cuts and transfers.

In 2016, the board's budget declines further by another $3 million to about $1.1 million and supervisors' terms in office will be cut from four years to two, under terms of the 2013 state law.

The new, lower pay for supervisors is linked to the per capita income of Milwaukee County.

Twitter: twitter.com/SteveSchultzeJS

County Board

referendum

(all units reporting)

✔Yes: 47,503

No: 19,587