5-Year Signature Plan

2005 - 2010

An Infrastructure Solution

Overview
Campaign Neighborhood - CFNBA Smart Growth 5-Year Signature Plan (2005–2010) is a comprehensive composite of ways and means for connectivity of residential, commercial, light industrial and institutional (church-school-social-government) stakeholders working together to increase quality of life issues and economic development for Milwaukeeans, especially People of Color and the Working Poor.

A Case Study

Birth: 2005

Focus: Rights and Privileges for Quality of Life and Economic Development mandated for Milwaukeeans, especially People of Color and the Working Poor – middle class, self-employed, un-employed, under-employed, homeless, re-entry citizens (post-incarceration, post-retirement, laid-off, displaced, seniors), individuals unbanked and others below the U.S. poverty line.

Type of Plan:

  • Smart Growth
  • Comprehensive
  • Family-to-Family
  • Neighborhood-to-Neighborhood Plan
  • Case Studies

Timeframe: 2005–2010
1st Meeting: October 22, 2005

City/State: Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Midwest USA

Site: Cathedral of St. John, the Evanglelist, 802 N. Jackson, Milwaukee, WI – Atrium.

Legislators Present:

  • State Representative Tamara Grigsby
    18th District
  • State Representative Jason Fields
    11th District

Motto: “Neighborhood Engineers, Building a NEW Image”

Brain Child: Mary Glass, Chair/CEO
Campaign Neighborhood – CFNBA

A Code of Conduct that embraces authenticity through transparency and best practices in customer care is the hallmark of Campaign Neighborhood - CFNBA Smart Growth 5-Year Signature Plan (2005–2010).

Institutions, organizations, and Individuals that partner, collaborate, represent, make policies, coordinate programs and projects, receive funding on behalf, or receive funding from the city coffers of Milwaukeeans are judged by their Code of Conduct for “BUY-IN” of the residential and commercial stakeholders.

We will look long and hard at statutory and federal funding to obtain enhanced connectivity and capabilities in quality of life and economic development.

Priorities

The linkage of technology and multi-media in the neighborhood campus environment (house-to-house, school-to-school, business-to-business, church-to-church, social organization-to-social organization) linked to all levels of government and statutory sites is uppermost and a major priority to impacting issues of the Kerner Report and the Digital Divide.

CODE | OF | CONDUCT
In order to document “behaviors”, “cultures”, and “failure to cooperate”, we have a Code of Conduct that speaks to respect of one’s time, profession, office, responsibility, customer care, continuing best practices, social responsibility, oath, and fiduciary responsibilities.

Strategic Action Items

Updates
Over the last 2 1/2 years CEO Glass has logged over 6000 hours of research that includes library data base research, city records, group discussions, one-on-one interviews and meetings to obtain input into infrastructural concerns of Milwaukee.

Some key and reoccuring “STRATEGIC ACTION ITEMS” are:

  • Cronyism
  • Greed
  • Incarceration
  • Institutional RACISM
  • Lack of AFFORDABLE HOUSING
  • Lack of an AFFIRMING ENVIRONMENT
  • Lack of CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
  • Lack of COMMUNICATION between corporate Milwaukee, investor, contractors and the citizenry, taxpayers
  • Lack of CULTURAL COMPETENCY BUSINESS empowerment
  • Lack of ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
  • Lack of EDUCATION ATTAINMENT
  • Lack of EMPLOYMENT (family-waged and career-enhanced)
  • Lack of GROUND RULES
  • Lack of INTEGRITY
  • Lack of KNOWLEDGE and COMMUNICATION by elected, appointed, hired officials
  • Lack of KNOWLEDGE, COMMUNICATION and DECISION MAKING by the citizenry
  • Lack of MORAL WILL and TRUTH-TELLING by citizenry and elected officials
  • Lack of NEIGHBORHOOD NEGOTIATION
  • Lack of RESPECT for the citizenry
  • Lack of SAFETY PREVENTION and INTERVENTION
  • Lack of TRUST and RESPECT by law enforcers (police, sheriff, prosecution, correctional and judicial system)
  • Lack of TRUST in elected officials
  • Lack of TRUST in law enforcers (police, sheriff, prosecution, correctional and judicial system) - Milwaukeeans, especially People of Color and the Working Poor
  • Lack of WELLNESS (physical, mental, emotional)
  • Pitting HAVES against the HAVE NOTS (government bodies)
  • Poverty
  • Punitive measures as the first option
  • Racism

CN-CFNBA Smart Growth 5-Year Signature Plan 2008 HIGHLIGHTS:

  • January/February, 2008 - Two(2) years into the research of the plan, dictates an increased timeline - at least two (2) phases. They are:

Phase ONE - 2005 to 2010.
Phase TWO - 2010–2015.

  • February 16, 2008

Making of Milwaukee (Scant Inclusion), An historic documentation - Channel 10/36, Milwaukee Historic Museum and John Gruda, member of Milwaukee Public Library Board

  • February/March, 2008

Forty (40) Years After the Kerner Report

  • March 4, 2008

Workforce Development Study tied to Milwaukee 7

  • April 11, 2008

Open Municipality Letter to Mayor Tom Barrett

  • April 30, 2008

“Horton Hears A Who” Philosophy to this plan.

For release, go to:
Horton

  • May 5, 2008 - Promotion of Pay Card Direct for Milwaukeeans on Social Security
  • May 5, 2008 - Promotion of Conversation and Basic Communication of Spanish
  • May 7, 2008 - Announce CEO Signature Plan Briefing
  • May 19, 2008 - State Strategy Session - Kickoff of DIAMONDS in the Rough Initiative (MPA-BC/Milwaukee Professionals Association Barber & Cosmetology Group)
  • May 30, 2008 - Per Capita Income Effeciencies - Maslow’s hierarchy (employment, savings, financial worth, income management, use of funds, unbanked and direct deposit)

* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, May 30, 2008

CN-CFNBA sees Pre-Paid Debit Card from U.S. Treasury as a BIG PLUS, if it provides Oversight for Quality Control

Milwaukee, WI – Chair/CEO Mary Glass, Campaign Neighborhood - CFNBA said Friday, May 30, 2008, “The newly implemented prepaid direct deposit electronic debit card by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) is a WINNER for the People, IF FMS is policy wise enough to invest in infrastructural training for ‘quality assurance’ at every level of service for customer care (from process start for direct deposit to government staff to website developers, to program planners, to distribution sites – card distributor/Comerica Bank, bank source, staff at the bank, call centers, customer service sites to the customer, end-user). There must be ongoing training and tweaking. If not, it will be more costly than the present paper checks.”

The service is called: Direct Express.

It is a new initiative implemented spring 2008 and projected to be in national distribution by the end of summer 2008.

It is an initiative to give millions of Americans who are unbanked a prepaid debit card for convenience, safety and greater access to federal benefit payments.

Direct Deposit
The process is:
• Each month, payments will be automatically deposited on the Direct Express card account on the federal beneficiary’s designated payment day - which means people will have faster access to their money than they would if they had to cash a paper check.
• Card holders will be able to access their money at ATMs and financial institutions nationwide.
• They will be able to use their card to get cash back and make purchases at retail locations, as well as pay bills and make purchases online.
• In addition, these accounts are PIN-protected, FDIC-insured, and subject to federal consumer protection regulations (Regulation E).
In the long run, the U.S. Treasury seeks to save taxpayers money.

“Direct Express represents a significant step forward in the evolution of federal benefit payments,” said FMS Commissioner Judy Tillman. “The explosive growth in the prepaid card industry offers an important opportunity for Treasury to give unbanked payment recipients secure, easy access to their funds, at low or no cost to the cardholder. We ultimately would like to see an all-electronic Treasury - with all the security, efficiency and cost savings that would entail. This card takes us closer to that goal by combining the best in payment innovation with sound public policy. If every unbanked federal check recipient signed up to use the card, it would save taxpayers about $44 million per year.”

CEO Glass has done a field study and tracked the services of Social Security office on Wisconsin Avenue and National City Bank, Grand Avenue in Milwaukee the last 20 days and will have a report real soon on findings.

* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 25, 2008
CONTACT: mgurbanicongroup@yahoo.com

Chairman/CEO Glass announces additional support of CN-CFNBA as a NGO

MILWAUKEE – Mary Glass, Chair/CEO, CN-CFNBA/Campaign Neighborhood – CFNBA announces additional expansion of services to include financial and technical assistance as a NGO/non-government organization that is privately owned and operated. It is inline with CN-CFNBA focus in the 5-Year Signature Plan for “connectivity and governance” at the neighborhood level.

Glass said, “We will work in year 2008–2009 of the Smart Growth 5-Year Signature Plan (2005–2010) to help provide financial and technical assistance to develop neighborhood-focused businesses in Milwaukee that are developed from “cultural competent skill sets. We have already begun the process through the launching of our Milwaukee Professionals Association and the first group being: Milwaukee Professionals Association Barber and Cosmetology Group.”

We welcome input at: mgurbanicongroup@yahoo.com

The SWOT-strength/weakness/opportunity/threat

  • ROOT CAUSES
  • SYSTEMIC
  • INFRASTUCTURE

Pioneering

  • Dialoging
  • Evaluating
  • Fingerprinting
  • Researching
  • Scaffolding
  • Theorizing
  • Action Items
  • Linkages
  • Road Map
  • Trends

5-YEAR SIGNATURE PLAN INITIATIVES

Below are the initiatives at the present time for review, research, and coalition-building. They are:

1. Championing Digital Empowerment: Linking Wireless to Inner City Milwaukee, and CLOSING the Digital Divide (2006)

Creating Intelligent Campuses for Economic Development and Quality of Life Self-Sustainability

2.Wisconsin Affirmative Action, The Next Level: Mend It, Defend It, Don’t End It (2006)

3.Media Reform:Opening the Airwaves for Inclusiveness (2006)

4.Justice Should Matter: Taking a look at laws, law enforcement, incarceration practices, policies, procedures and conducting business that sends a message of support or alienation. (2007)

5.Safety Prevention and Safety Intervention - Are YOU Doing Your Part?: Behaviors - Environmental - social/mental/drug induced Causes (2003)

6.Education Attainment (2007):
• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
• MPS/Milwaukee Public Schools
• MATC/Milwaukee Area Technical College
• UW-M/University of WI-Milwaukee
• Other colleges and training centers
• Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
• Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB)

7.The Parent Network: A special focus on the importance of “parents” in the strategic plan of MPS (2007).

8.BALANCE – Historic Presence - People of Color in History Making of Milwaukee (2007)

Documentaries of Milwaukeeans of Color and their historic contributions to the City of Milwaukee is vital.

• Historic deposits of the accomplishments of African Americans and other People of Color are sorely missing in the public schools and depositories of Milwaukee.

This was recently pointed out in “The Making of Milwaukee” documentary by Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 - A five-Part Documentation has portrayed Milwaukee’s history with a “scant” mention of People of Color. One of the telling points was, there was no mention of Mayor Marvin Pratt - a history making event. Common Council President Marvin Pratt took office and completed the last portion of Mayor John Norquist. Norquist was forced to resigned due to a scandal with a female staff member.

The fact that this documentary was lacking and the depositories of Milwaukee are also lacking, makes a mockery of the many historical accomplishments of People of Color.

It is an opportunity to “fill the void”.

9.Importing Employment and Contracting (2005):

• Elected officials and city leaders disenfranchising and gentrifying neighborhoods - People of Color and the Working Poor

10. High ‘Underemployed’ and ‘Unemployed’ taxpayers of Milwaukee (2005)

11. Developers and government agencies promotion without a Neighborhood Benefit Agreement (2005)

12. Tourism (2004)

13. Transit and Transportation (renewed 2004)

14. Following the Tax Dollar for Accountability (2007)

15. Horton Hears a Who
One for All and All for One (2008)

16. DIAMONDS in the Rough
Empowering Cultural Competency Businesses
(2008)

17. Financial Management and Per Capita Income (2008)

  • Access, literacy and participation in wealth building.
  • Unbanked to bank, savings, credit union, investment

Some of the initiatives are being looked at for merger.

5-Year Signature Plan Credo
“When the Mission, Vision and Code of Conduct do not match continuing best practices and customer service - customer care, respect for the neighborhood/ environment it serves, it is time for scrutiny - immediate answers, HALT on funding and accountability that identify steps of correction with a timeline and non-government monitoring body,” Mary Glass, Chair/CEO.

DEMOGRAPHICS
The City of Milwaukee has a population of 602,782. The predominate population: People of Color. Additional info can be found regarding the diversity richness at www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee.

Face of Poverty

PEOPLE OF COLOR
People of Color are:

  • African American - Black
  • American Indian - Red
  • Asian - Yellow
  • Latino - Brown

WORKING POOR - Middle Class
The Working Poor are:

  • African American - Black
  • American Indian - Red
  • Asian - Yellow
  • Caucasian - White
  • Latino - Brown

Face of Poverty in Milwaukee

41% - African American
38% - Latino
12% - Caucasian

41% - Children

Note: Data for American Indian and Asian were not available. American Indians and Asians are included in the 9% left to make the total 100%.

Poverty figures in Milwaukee 2006
Presented by: SDC/Social Development Commission

5-YEAR SIGNATURE PLAN

       (2005–2010)

Boundaries - 97 Square Miles

  • 15 Aldermanic Districts
  • 25 Supervisory Districts
  • 8 School Districts
  • 18 Neighborhoods
  • 40 BID Districts

Mission
Linkage of residential, commercial, light industrial and institutional (church/school/social organizations/ government) stakeholders for neighborhood governance tied to self-sustainability.

Methodology and Rubric

  • Awareness, Commitment and Involvement of Citizenry
  • Statutory and government funded mandates.
  • Education Attainment
  • Action strategies
  • Connectivity and use of the Internet

The 5-Year Signature Plan will address and include ALL Milwaukeeans; however, it is important to note that the two groups that are a priority for this 5-Year Plan are:
* People of Color
* The Working Poor

PARTNER/COLLABORATION
Our focus for infrastructural change is first and foremost within the City of Milwaukee versus the “Greater Milwaukee community” which identify 7 counties.

The success of the plan is determined by the level and sophistication of “linkage” of the stakeholders. Stakeholders are residential, commercial, light industrial and institutional (clergy-school-social-government stakeholders).

Target Population
Milwaukeeans.

Customer Care - We are looking at “Customer Care and Best Practices” for all Milwaukeeans that reside/ work/ worship/ grow families and businesses in the City of Milwaukee.

Face of Poverty - The City of Milwaukee has a “FACE OF POVERTY” that is not being dealt with in a committed leadership, consistency and connected way for change by our city, state and federal government elected officials.

Economic Development & Gainful Employment

Item 1 - The design, identification and creation of a culture- and neighborhood-centered employment base in the City of Milwaukee for People of Color and the Working Poor - marginalized, single parent, middle class, homeless, re-entry workers (retirement and correctional), disabled, self-employed, unemployed and under-employed (generalist).

Item 2 - Business deveopment tied to micro credit financing for entrepreneurship and job development.

Item 3 - Employment tied to cultural and conventional market demand for People of Color and the Working Poor in Milwaukee.

Item 4 - Identification, evaluation and worth (standards) of skills for job matching.

Item 5 - An AUDIT and re-organization of the focus on poverty-quality of life-economic development for City Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Authority, RACM, Department of City Development, Department of Public Works, Department of Neighborhood Services, lead agencies and management of Community Development Block Grant Funding of the 18 lead agencies.

Item 6 - Through the AUDIT and re-organization of the lead agencies and government management:

  • INSERT specific government policies desired by the people and honored through regular stipulated neighborhood leadership meetings - CDBG lead agencies.
  • INSERT regulations that call for a rubric for appointments by ALL elected officials that includes “time limits”.
  • INSERT guidelines that call for strict guidelines on requested and dissiminating public information request in a timely fashion - expected timeframe that include state-of-the art options.
  • INSERT guidelines that prohibit life-long appointments and limits service to 3 years of Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation/ MEDC and like organizations that handles city government funding and do not have oversight of the public.
  • REMOVE the strangle-hold of the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, YWCA, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Greater Milwaukee Committee, Milwaukee Regional 7 and United Way take-over of poverty funds in Milwaukee CDBG agencies and policy making in Milwaukee.

Item 7 - The creation of a PUBLIC CITIZEN Review committee elected by the people of the 18 neighborhoods to monitor the practices and funding from the City of Milwaukee and report directly to the local HUD office quarterly; and, the National HUD office biannually for safe arrival and disbursement of funds of HUD.

Item 8 - The PUBLIC CITIZEN Review Committee would also include the monitoring and accountable of the HOUSING component of HUD and Reviewing misconduct of government employees - elected, hired and appointed.

This committee would also provide the citizenry with a quarterly Report Card on elected officials - federal, state, local.

Item 9 - 5-Year Moratorium on economic development by outside developers in CDBG designated neighborhoods without authorization through a social responsibility and neighborhood agreement.

The Agreement needs the fingerprint of the neighborhood-by-neighborhood citizenry of Milwaukee.

Item 10 - Importing of contractors and workers is forbidden unless the project is employing members from the CDBG designated neighborhood of the development or contiguous CDBG neighborhood of high poverty, e.g., Amani, Midtown, Sherman Park, Greater Clarke Square, Historic South Side and other CDBG Lead Agencies.

Item 11 - Importing of contractors and workers to areas not affected by poverty and unemployment is forbidden to use TIFs, tax credits or any funding incentives brought in by People of Color and the Working Poor unless they too adopt the policy for bringing the high unemployment rate down - Item 5 and Item 9.

Item 12 - Connectivity and accountability of major institutions; e.g., city and county government, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee County Historic Society, Milwaukee County Federated Library System, Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) all television and radio stations, especially Channel 10/36 - MATC, Radio - MPS, all newspapers; and, state and federal communication monitoring sites.

Website:

ON-LINE INTERACTION
This website is a wiki, which allows participants of the 5-Year Signature Plan to quickly and easily update its content from any internet-connected computer, anywhere. As such, it is intended to encourage participation, and to stimulate collaborative work and creative ideas.

The wiki acts as a complement to the more conventional site, at http://CFNBAInnerCityWireless.biz, that is presently being “re-constructed”.

We seek dialog to address hot-button issues facing Milwaukeeans, especially People of Color and the Working Poor. The forums include:

  • Legislators TALK
  • Town Meetings
  • Media, Wireless & YOU
  • 5-Year Signature Plan Conference

We hope you benefit from each visit, let us hear from you; and, KEEP COMING BACK!

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Last edited by Mary. Based on work by mary, Mry and Mary Glass.  Page last modified on June 07, 2008

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