Is This the Governor Wisconsin Wants?
DL Stein 
By DL Stein — The Patriot
MAGA Viral News | MAGAviral.com
A Budget Hole Revealed After Election Day
The day after Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was elected Wisconsin’s next governor, his administration disclosed a $4.56 million hole in the county’s proposed 2027 budget. The error had been known inside the county executive’s office since around October 20—roughly two weeks before Election Day.
The Formula Behind the Shortfall
The mistake was not a simple data-entry slip. A newly automated spreadsheet formula, meant to replace manual calculations, reversed the positive and negative signs on two airport-related accounts: a roughly $4.49 million depreciation contribution and about $2.21 million in airport revenue. The result overstated tax-levy savings by $4.56 million in a budget of roughly $1.5 billion—about 0.3 percent of the total.
Crowley had introduced the spending plan in early October after claiming his administration closed a projected $50 million structural gap.
Supervisors Question the Timing
County Board supervisors first learned of the shortfall via a November 4 memo—the day after the election and the day before they were scheduled to vote on the budget. Several said they found out through news reports or social media rather than from the administration.
Finance Committee Chair Steve Taylor called the handling “totally inappropriate” and said it broke a level of trust that will be hard to restore. Other supervisors described the timing as disturbing and noted that the board’s finance committee was still meeting when the error was identified, yet supervisors were kept in the dark until after Crowley had won statewide.
The Administration’s Explanation
Budget director Nicholas Sinram confirmed the office learned of the discrepancy around October 20. He said staff wanted to correct the formula and identify offsets before notifying the board. Possible fixes include additional prescription-drug rebates, leftover cash from capital projects scheduled to close in 2027, and ongoing departmental surpluses.
The administration has said no service cuts are planned and that the formula has already been corrected. A spokesperson stated Crowley was aware of the error and is “confident the issue is resolved” and that the county will end 2027 with a balanced budget.
Crowley subsequently acknowledged knowing about the error before Election Day, attributing the disclosure timing to investigation, proposed solutions and the budget meeting.
Budget Approved, Review Demanded
The County Board adopted the $1.5 billion budget and, in the same meeting, unanimously demanded a full review and timeline of events surrounding the error. Some supervisors have said that if the upcoming report does not provide a clear account, they will pursue a deeper audit.
A Larger Responsibility Ahead
The episode arrives as Crowley prepares to move from Milwaukee County’s roughly $1.5 billion budget to responsibility for the entire state budget. During the campaign, Republicans questioned his fiscal management of the county. The administration’s decision to sit on a multi-million-dollar calculation error for two weeks, then release it the day after the election and the day before the budget vote, has reinforced those concerns for critics and left even some county supervisors questioning the process.
The Real Issue Is Public Trust
A $4.6 million gap is manageable on paper. The larger issue is the sequence of events: an error known since mid-October, withheld from the legislative body that must approve the budget, and disclosed only after the county executive had secured a statewide victory. For a governor-elect who will soon oversee far larger sums, the episode is an early test of transparency and basic fiscal housekeeping.
Sources:
- TMJ4 — Milwaukee County supervisors demand answers over $4.56M budget error
- WISN 12 — Crowley says he knew about the budget error before the election
- WTMJ — County Board approves budget despite $4.6 million budgeting error
