TINN BROADBAND Outreach to Administrators and Trustees of Milwaukee Public Library met with Obstruction, Discrimination and Secrecy

Milwaukee Public Library Trustees
TINN seeks Broadband for All to ensure SMART CITIES

JANUARY 31, 2018

CITY-WIDE MILWAUKEE || TINN - TEAM Internet-Net Neutrality BROADBAND Initiative for the Underserved User has met unacceptable and inappropriate obstruction and discrimination from the administrators and trustees of Milwaukee Public Library.   MPL Administrators and Trustees have behaved in a disappointing manner.  We know with due diligence there will be change.

TINN - GO BROADBAND!

TINN - TEAM Internet Net Neutrality BROADBAND Initiative for the Underserved Users at the urban and rural levels of southeastern Wisconsin.  The target audiences are residential, commercial, and light industrial stakeholders in Mt. Pleasant, Racine, Sturtevant, Kenosha and Somers, Wisconsin.

MPL

One of the main anchors of the 3-year case study is the public funded libraries for the stakeholders in each of the cities and villages. Libraries are already tasked with providing "Connectivity" of the internet of the constituents.  They already receive major funding from our local, state and federal government as a mainstay for services.  However, the access, literacy, and use at Milwaukee libraries are grossly inadequate and initial research has revealed little to NO growth is evident to help connect Broadband service needs with the population targeted to serve.  Milwaukee Public Library strategic plan is sorely lacking.  There is the mention of "digital inclusion" but continuity is not seen that speaks to 21st Century leadership for a population with their needs and the size of Milwaukee.  

The city of Milwaukee 2018 budget for MPL is $28,987,845.

                        City Library of Milwaukee

                                      Budget - 2018                         

                       $23,206,425 - Operations

$4,695,000 - Capital Improvements

                         $1,086,420 - State Grants

                       $28,987,845 - Budget Total

Administrators

Paula Kiley, City Librarian, Joan Johnson, Deputy Librarian, and Sam McGovern-Rowen, Project Manager (ex-Trustee), have repeatedly refused to provide public information requested by Mary Glass, Chief Visionary Officer regarding rules and regulations governing the operation of Milwaukee Public Library.  

The above totals are listed at the Budget Office of the Department of Administration (Milwaukee) and not an exhaustive list of funds.  For example, gift-giving by Community Advocates and Northwestern Mutual Insurance for Mitchell Street Library.

For over three months now, calls, emails, and visits to the monthly Trustee Meetings of Milwaukee Public Library has been met with NO response to misleading comments, to promise but, no follow thru.

The resistance (rigidity, obstruction, cronyism, discrimination, and secrecy of information and protocol) has remained by those the public whole in TRUST.  Those the taxpayers have in place to oversee administration, operations, and enforcement of rules and regulations for excellent library services for the population of Milwaukee and to our neighbors outside of Milwaukee.

Troubling

Unwillingness and refusal to share and provide public information regarding the policies and procedures of Milwaukee Public Library system include:

• agreements with NEW library developers (especially repeated developers like Gorman USA)
• bias use of survey by organization MKE United vs NO use by TINN - TEAM Internet-Net Neutrality BROADBAND for the Underserved User
• build-out space at Mitchell Street Library (funding, citizen participation, the hiring of interns - process and procedure, curriculum use, supply, and demand)
• citizen panels
• citizen participation at all levels
• DATA GATHERING
• digital scope (strategic planning, budget, and funding)
• employment
• expansions (broadband and equipment)
• failure to support library plan
• gentrification
• hiring African American and other People of Color
• hours of internet access and training for the public 
• INCLUSIVENESS (culture)
• library staff input beyond the downtown site
• mixed accommodations relative to need and affordability of the neighborhood
• NEW library development
• owners and pricing of housing developed over the libraries
• process and procedure for acquisition of developers and funding
• procurement of developers
• RECOMMENDATIONS February Retreat
• reporting
• selecting a Library and/or site for development
• use of broadband width

Mitchell Street Library has two projects that raise a level of secrecy and cronyism that erodes trust and must be curtailed. The same is seen at play with Martin King Library and Mill Road to date. It is seen at Villard Street Library.

The "closed-communication" of staff members Kiley, Johnson, and McGovern-Rowen led Glass to the Trustees. 

It is important to say that Kiley was asked for procedures for filing a staff complaint and sharing the email contacts for the Trustee Board of Milwaukee Public Library, she refused to respond.

Trustee Board

At the Trustee Meeting in November, 2017, Glass addressed the omission of her presence in the Minutes as a guest and citizen at the October Meeting.  She also requested time to introduce TINN - TEAM Internet-Net Neutrality to the Trustees.  As for correction of the Minutes, the correction was led by Trustee Nik Kovac and NO followup has come from the November Trustees meeting for Introduction of TINN or response from Kiley as the top administrator.  Click.

An additional call and email request for Trustee email contacts were sent to the attention of Trustee Michele Bria.  No response.

There appears to be a code of silence and no response from those who have the fiduciary responsibility of customer care of Milwaukee city library.

Mayor

We are now at the office of Tom Barrett, mayor for due diligence in this matter.  We will start with his new Constituent Director Nick Ramos.

Tom Barrett, the mayor, is looking - after-the-fact - at the dire need lead-scare for Milwaukee.  He seems to have quickly thrown Bevan Baker, Commissioner of City of Milwaukee Health Department under the streetcar and now fumbling with quick fixes that seem to point to lack of due diligence and failure to stay in his lane for confirmation of appointments in Milwaukee by the common council.  Will Paula Kiley reap the same fate?

Or will the mayor dismiss my contact to his office?

He spoke of his "getting" that the bus stop with him in a press stop regarding the lead attached to two known children with lead poisoning.  Well, there are those of us who feel that Tom is just saying words that curry favor.  For when we notify his office of lack of due diligence by members of his cabinet and the out-of-control number of oversight boards (out-of-date, untrained, left to vices and cronyism with lack of evaluations), Tom does NOTHING.

We have recommended that during the MPL Board Retreat that Frank Martinelli, Center for Public Skills Training is allowed to address the inappropriate behavior above.
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BOARD MEMBERS

• John Gurda President, May 2018 April 2018 Citizen Member (Mayor) 
• Michele Bria, Ph.D. Vice-President, May 2018 April 2021 Citizen Member (Mayor) 
• Paula A. Kiely Secretary, Library Director Ex Officio Non-Voting Member 
• JoAnne Anton Financial Secretary, May 2018 April 2018 Citizen Member (Mayor) 
• Alderwoman Milele Coggs April 2020 Aldermanic Member (Mayor) 
• Sharon Cook April 2019 Citizen Member (Mayor) 
• Alderman Cavalier Johnson April 2020 Aldermanic Member (Mayor) 
• Alderman Nik Kovac April 2020 Aldermanic Member (Mayor) 
• Chris Layden April 2021 Citizen Member (Mayor) 
• Supervisor Marcelia Nicholson Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors (County Executive) 
• Joan M. Prince, Ph.D. April 2020 Designee of Common Council President 
• Mark Sain Milwaukee School Board President Ex Officio 
• Jennifer Smith, Ed.D. Designee of Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Ex Officio

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More to come.

Update:  February 1, 2018