Milwaukee County Budget Director Nick Sinram defended waiting two weeks to tell supervisors about a $4.56 million hole in David Crowley’s proposed 2027 budget, saying he wanted to bring them solutions rather than problems.
The explanation came Thursday, after the County Board learned about the error November 4, the day after Crowley won the governor’s race and one day before supervisors were scheduled to adopt the budget.
“Why is it a sound process to not inform the board of this until the day before they’re voting on a $1.5 billion budget?” a reporter asked in the video shared by A.J. Bayatpour.
“We choose to bring solutions to the board, not just problems,” Sinram answered.
Pressed on who decided when to notify supervisors, Sinram said he made the decision in coordination with the county’s finance chairman. The reporter then pointed out that the chairman had learned about the problem only the previous day.
“That’s correct,” Sinram said.
“You did not have solutions until the day after the election?” the reporter asked.
“It takes time. It’s a complicated budget issue,” Sinram replied, saying staff needed to investigate thoroughly and develop realistic solutions.
The exchange also raised questions about when Crowley’s office learned of the issue. Asked whether he informed the county executive’s office after discovering the hole on October 21, Sinram said staff “worked through the administration and all of our processes as normal.” The clip ends as the reporter presses him for a date.
Separately, Sinram said he notified the county executive’s office the day the error was discovered. That would have given Crowley’s administration notice before the election, while supervisors responsible for approving the budget remained uninformed. It does not establish when Crowley personally learned of the problem.
The mistake involved a newly automated process that reversed positive and negative signs on airport-related budget entries, making the proposed spending plan appear to contain savings that did not exist.
The administration’s response relies on finding offsets during 2027, including prescription drug rebates, leftover capital-project money and departmental savings. A fund transfer is planned by the end of March, but the disclosure memo did not specify how much each source would provide.
Supervisors sharply criticized how the disclosure was handled. Finance Committee Chairman Steve Taylor said the board had been blindsided by a major administration error for the third time in roughly a year and a half. Supervisor Shawn Rolland said members “can’t do our job” without timely, accurate information. Supervisor Jack Eckblad called the handling “completely unacceptable.”
Crowley’s office has denied that the election determined the timing, saying staff needed time to investigate and prepare fixes. His spokesperson said Crowley was confident the county would finish 2027 with a balanced budget.
The board nevertheless adopted the amended budget 17-1 Thursday and required a report next month explaining the accounting error. The plan now goes to Crowley for signature or veto.
Crowley takes office as governor in January. His budget office knew about the county’s multimillion-dollar mistake before voters elected him. The supervisors charged with approving that budget learned about it afterward.
