Margo Franklin, Milwaukee County’s chief human resources officer, has resigned amid a growing scandal surrounding County Executive David Crowley’s handling of the employee health care system.
Milwaukee County’s chief human resources officer, Margo Franklin, has resigned amid fallout from a major health care contracting scandal that exposed serious lapses in oversight under County Executive David Crowley’s administration.
Franklin’s departure, effective May 1, comes more than two months after a subordinate in her department was fired for allowing the county’s multimillion-dollar health insurance contract with UnitedHealthcare and Optum Rx to lapse at the end of 2025. The error left thousands of county employees and retirees facing uncertainty over their benefits, triggering public outrage and an embarrassing distraction during Crowley’s bid for higher office.
In a brief email announcing her resignation, Franklin offered no explanation. Crowley accepted it without elaboration in a terse statement: “I have accepted the resignation of Milwaukee County Chief Human Resources Officer Margo Franklin, effective Friday, May 1, 2026.”
Critics have pointed to deeper problems in the county’s human resources operation, where a single employee’s mistake was allowed to jeopardize one of the largest contracts in county government. The incident forced a full audit of contracting procedures and highlighted what many residents see as bureaucratic incompetence and a lack of accountability at the top levels of county leadership.
The scandal rocked Crowley’s administration as the County Executive’s gubernatorial candidacy languishes in the polls, raising fresh questions about whether taxpayers can trust Democratic-led Milwaukee County to competently manage essential services. While county officials have touted new transparency tools and policy reviews in response, Franklin’s exit leaves the department without its top leader as it attempts to recover.
Crowley, a Democrat, has not yet named a replacement. Franklin had overseen human resources initiatives during her tenure, but her departure underscores ongoing struggles with basic administrative competence in a government that spends hundreds of millions on employee benefits each year.
