Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said Thursday he will kill the proposed $775,000 sculpture for outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse, saying tough times dictate the money go for more pressing needs.

Any other public art projects in the pipeline should also be dropped this year for the same reason, Abele said in an interview.

"We are facing a budget from Madison that's going to force cuts in transit, Family Care, SeniorCare," he said. "We are going to have to make a lot of tough decisions."

The money for the art projects comes from the county's Percent for Art program, which sets aside 1% of money borrowed for large county building or maintenance projects. Over $1 million has been spent on 18 projects since the program's start in 2000, including the series of granite pieces near the Brady St. pedestrian bridge at McKinley Marina and several sculptures at Mitchell Airport.

The courthouse sculpture was intended to stand where a circular cement water fountain is now located. Four finalists among 253 artists who submitted proposals had their pitches for the courthouse project on display Wednesday at the downtown Milwaukee Public Library. The finalists were Alice Aycock, who designed a giant wildflower sculpture; Cliff Garten, with a pair of stylized bronze columns; Louise Bertelsen and Pho Po Shu Wang, with a giant tuning fork; and Brower Hatcher, who created a Lady Justice figure perched on a partial geodesic dome.

Abele's move will be the first time in the 11 years of the art program that a county executive has canceled a project. He has authority to switch the money to construction or major maintenance projects, but could not apply the money to help buoy county operations.

The courthouse sculpture would have been the largest art project commissioned by the county.

The Blue Shirt, the county's most famous public art project, never got made. In 2003, then-County Executive Scott Walker canceled the contract for the shirt sculpture, which was to be incorporated into the airport parking ramp. Artist Dennis Oppenheim, who was paid $220,000, provided a substitute sculpture, "Submerged Vessels," for the airport.

The money from the courthouse art project should be earmarked for the county's most critical deferred maintenance needs, Abele said.

He didn't specify a particular maintenance project, but county parks alone face $200 million in deferred maintenance, according to a county audit.

Lisa Berman, chairwoman of the county art committee, said she was "extremely disappointed" in Abele's decision. She said she had briefed Abele about the courthouse art project recently and wanted to meet with him again about the future of the program.

"When I talked with him, he said he supported the concept," Berman said. "I want to see if there's any opportunity where we can move forward for Milwaukee County under any circumstances." She suggested the art committee might be retooled to combine public and private money for public art.

Gerry Broderick, a county supervisor and member of the committee that oversees the county art program, cautioned Abele against killing the courthouse art project. The project was carefully considered by the art panel over two years and could provide a needed source of inspiration, Broderick said.

He called Abele's qualms about the art project ironic, noting that Abele enjoyed strong support in his race for county executive from major public art patrons.

Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo agreed with Abele's move. He said the public art program should be suspended, if not abolished. Too many other worthy projects could use the money going to the art projects, Sanfelippo said.

"It's hard to justify why we should be spending that kind of money on art," especially in a difficult economy, he said. "It's crazy."

Abele didn't rule out reconsidering public art at some point, but said he was focused on dealing with the county's immediate budget crisis. The county faces a projected deficit in 2012 of nearly $40 million.

Abele noted he has been and will continue to personally be a large supporter of the arts and said his decision shouldn't be taken as a sign he's changed his appreciation for the arts.

"This is not anti-art by any means," said Abele, a former member of the Milwaukee Art Museum Board.

Abele's decision to dump the sculpture fits his campaign theme to find savings wherever possible, he said. Abele also saved $620,000 by vetoing a planned metal and glass facade for the O'Donnell Park garage renovation and sold the 2006 Chevrolet Impala designated for the county executive. That fetched $11,500 at auction.