(Madison, WI – Milwaukee, WI) A new statewide advocacy group will focus on the unique needs of Wisconsin’s defense industry and its supply chain. The Wisconsin Defense Industry Council (WDIC) was formed in conjunction with Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) to strengthen and support Wisconsin’s defense industry through collaborative advocacy, information sharing and networking.

Hundreds of Milwaukeeans, and Milwaukeeans at heart, descended upon Washington D.C. Tuesday night to network with legislators, promote the contributions of the region and enjoy themselves.
 
The 33rd-annual Milwaukee Night in D.C., held at Union Station in the shadows of the nation’s capitol building, was attended by about 300.
 
MMAC President Tim Sheehy provided some insight into the event’s purpose and history.

The Milwaukee Academy of Science (MAS) got its start in 2000 with the intent of closing a significant gap in minority achievement in the health sciences.
 
It’s delivered.
 
2023 marked the ninth straight year the school achieved a perfect post-secondary school acceptance rate – boasting nearly $10 million in scholarships won by its students this year.
 
The state legislature helped the school, and others like it, close another significant gap last week – one that school CEO Anthony McHenry said will allow it to think “long-term.”

June 15, 2023 (MILWAUKEE) – Every two years, state budget negotiations take on immense importance in setting the priorities and charting a course for the state of Wisconsin.
 
Those negotiations took on an even greater importance in 2023. 
 
Issues the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) have spent many years and thousands of hours working on – the future of state-shared revenue, a new sales tax for the city of Milwaukee and an increase in the existing sales tax in Milwaukee County, and a closure in the funding gap between students throughout the state – were on the front burner during the biennial budget process.
 
Compromise and collaboration resulted in big wins for the state and its residents.

We thank Gov. Tony Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and their respective legislative bodies for advancing a compromise agenda that puts Wisconsin first. In 40 years of working with the Legislature, this compromise may rank as one of the most promising ever to position Wisconsin and Milwaukee to compete for jobs and capital investment.

Last month the MMAC held our annual “Madison Night” in Milwaukee reception where the Mayor, County Executive and MMAC Government Affairs department hosted our elected leaders from the state capitol in Madison for an evening to get to know MMAC members and sponsors and our elected officials from the metro-Milwaukee region.

MMAC is pleased to announce the hiring of Khenzer Senat, Public Policy Analyst.
 
Khenzer comes to MMAC after spending six years at the Republican Party of Wisconsin where he was the African American Engagement Director. He has built relationships with faith-based leaders, business owners and community activist in the African American community; as well as recruited candidates to run for local and state offices in Wisconsin. He is a graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran College with a B.A in Communications, emphasis in Political Communications
 
“The MMAC Government Affairs team is thrilled to add Khenzer’s talents to the team,” said MMAC Vice President of Government Affairs Andrew Davis. “His eagerness and knowledge of Milwaukee’s issues will serve him, the organization and its members well.”
 
Away from work, Khenzer lives in West Allis with his wife, Heidi; son, Sebastian (14 months) and their Whippet/Retriever, Harmony.

No two stories are the same, and while they have similarities, Milwaukee County’s fiscal crisis is different from the City’s. However, it is a clear-and-present danger to the county’s future, and it does have a clear-and-present solution.

The definition of a fiscal crisis is “the inability to bridge a deficit between expenditures and tax revenue.” The City of Milwaukee is in a fiscal crisis. 

On a $1B budget, the city begins next year with a $156M deficit, that – with a cost-to-continue budget – grows to $176 by 2026. Without substantial changes in expenditures or revenues these deficits become structural (ongoing).