ALARM BELL No. 9: New Radios Don’t Work

So Bring Back the Old Ones – DUH!

You’d think if the $20 million OpenSky radios were so bad, that Mayor Tom Barrett would get involved and try to get the best equipment possible for police and firefighters.

So, in June 2008, when the Fire Department had to get 125 of the OLD radios because the NEW radios didn’t work, there would be some mayoral leadership.

What could the mayor do? He’d launch a probe. He’d hire a consultant.

Or, as they might sat at every neighborhood, common sense watering hole , he’d say: “What the "flock" is going on with the radios not working?”

Not our Mayor Tom.

This is our 9th Alarm in our series of 11 Alarms that Mayor Barrett snoozed through when the fire department’s radios were failing. The 11 Alarms are based on over 1000 pages of documents obtained by Citizens for Responsible Government – not the media – and posted on the Internet to reveal the failed leadership of Mayor Barrett in the OpenSky scandal.

There have been 11 critical points at which the OpenSky radios failed so badly that any normal mayor of a big city in America would have intervened to help his cops, firefighters and citizens avoid death or injury.

Incidentally, you will notice that our Pulitzer Prize Winning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did not request these documents, or do a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles about our cops and firefighters using radios that don’t work. In fact, we offered these documents to them and they weren’t interested in looking.

So, take a look at this Alarm Bell and pause to think about the men and women who risk their live to protect us. The fire department actually brought 125 of the old radios they were supposed to have completely phased out years earlier because the OpenSky radios were “not intrinsically safe.”

And not one word from Mayor Tom!

Exhibit 38 (link to complete document)

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Exhibit 42 – May 29, 2008 (link to complete document)

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Exhibit 53 - Issues with replacement radios - Oct 23, 2008 (link to complete document)

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Can’t fix the replacement radios – Oct 23, 2008 (link to complete document)

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ALARM BELL No. 8: Radio Tests Cancelled Due to Officer Safety Issues

Seven years after OpenSky radios were brought to the Milwaukee police, and five years into Mayor Tom Barrett’s term, the system was to be tested for seven days. That was in 2009.

The “seven day console” test would see if the radios worked right.

Guess what?

The test had to be cancelled because of concerns for officer safety!

This was revealed as part of 600-pages of Milwaukee Fire Department documents obtained by Citizens for Responsible Government under the Open Records Act.

We’ve looked at the records and determined there were 11 critical alarm bells that Mayor Tom Barrett should have heard to bail out on the failing OpenSky radios. But, Mayor Tom must be a deep sleeper because he hasn’t heard single alarm bell.

He slept when New York cancelled their mega OpenSky contract. He slept when the radios failed. Then when the backup radios failed. He even snoozed when his fire fighters battled a three-alarm blaze without radios.

What the heck is going on here?

Anyway, the seven-day test was cancelled because conducting the test would have put personnel in danger.

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“Halt the test in the interest of officer safety” is how one email described it. “It was agreed by the collective team that officer safety was foremost above the test.

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Yikes, so the radios are so screwed up that if you test them, you can lose contact with officers and firefighters in the field!

We suppose the OpenSky radios are tested daily and they fail daily. And for $20 million, we should turn them in with the receipt and ask for our money back.

If we bought ‘em at Radio Shack that’s what we’d do. But not Mayor Tom. Officer safety isn’t even worth his time.

Click here to read the entire sub-section of open records that contains the above excerpts (things start to get interesting on pages 21-90).  It's one of our favorites as it details many of the OpenSky problems faced not only in Milwaukee but other cities across the U.S.

Barrett Should Take a Long Look in Accountability Deficit Mirror!

More OpenSky Hypocrisy: Take responsibility, take action, BEFORE someone is KILLED!

We received an email alert from Tom Barrett that raised the issue of “accountability” and “leadership” with language like “man in charge” and “enough is enough.” Naturally, we thought Barrett was finally taking responsibility for the police radio boondoggle that after $20 million and 5 years of delays is still leaving police officers and fire fighters in harms way without radio backup. Maybe, we thought, he is taking responsibility for failing to stop dumping sewage into Lake Michigan as he promised when he was campaigning for Mayor six years ago.

No, the “Man in Charge” at City Hall still isn’t. “Accountability” and “Leadership” still apply only to others and “enough is enough” is still just campaign finger-pointing.

Rather than flush Barrett’s hypocrisy into Lake Michigan like so much blended sewage, we edited it into a message for our Milk Carton Mayor. If a petition is what passes for Barrett action, we’ll send him one of those, too (note the button depicted below is not an actual request to sign a petition).

UPDATE: Due to popular demand, we made the "SIGN THE PETITION" button below active so you can "sign the petiton" by logging your contact info.  We'll deliver the message to Mayor Barrett.  For those of you who have contacted politicians in the past, you know they require contact info before they take a "petition" seriously.  We left out the address block so at least we can guarantee you won't get junk mail!

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Dear Friend,

Yesterday evening [For months], I [We] have called on Scott Walker [Tom Barrett] to finally hold himself accountable for the continuing crisis at [with] his Milwaukee County Health Complex [OpenSky Police and Fire Radio System].

One hour later [For six years], what initially looked like the first real step in making some long overdue reforms at the mental health facility has turned out to be nothing more than a worthless shuffle on Scott Walker’s county organizational chart. Instead of being fired, Walker’s crony is getting a golden parachute to a cushy new county job [Barrett’s police and fire departments have been trying make the OpenSky radio system work without endangering the lives of officers, fire fighters and the public without success].

Unfortunately, what initially looked like the first real step in making some long overdue reforms at the mental health facility has turned out to be nothing more than a worthless shuffle on Scott Walker’s county organizational chart. [challenge for Barrett as Mayor six years ago (aside from his promise to stop sewage dumping into Lake Michigan) has still not been addressed by the Mayor]. Instead of being fired, Walker’s crony is getting a golden parachute to a cushy new county job [doing his job as Mayor, Barrett has hidden from the scandal and left underlings to take the heat and police officers and fire fighters to needlessly risk their lives].

That's not accountability.

Walker [Barrett] himself has said the system as well as individuals must answer for [nothing about] this scandal. But for the past eight [six] years as county executive [mayor], Scott Walker [Tom Barrett] has been in charge of the system – appointing people to run the facility [departments] and setting the budget priorities.

If the buck doesn’t stop with Scott Walker [Tom Barrett], where does it stop? Watch our videos on this important issue and demand that Scott Walker [Tom Barrett] finally take responsibility for the years of reckless mismanagement at the county mental health complex [of the OpenSky police and fire radio system].

Here are some of the big questions still begging for answers:

• Why did the County Health Complex [Mayor] fail to [stop payment on OpenSky when radios were determined to be unsafe]?

• Why did facility staffing decrease [OpenSky cost rise] by over 20%, while at the same time the County paid more than $250,000 for lawyers and PR flacks to hide behind [Barrett allowed implementation to fall 5-years behind (and counting)]?

• Why have more than 40 funded staffing positions remained vacant [500 pages of officer complaints and a fire department internal investigation not received any attention from the Mayor], while the facility suffers from chronic shortstaffing [radio system fails at 3-Alarm fires, police foot chases and “officer down” calls]?

• Why is Scott Walker [Tom Barrett] allowing officials and investigators [citizens and reporters to be stonewalled] as they search for the truth?

The crisis at Scott Walker’s County Mental Health Complex [with Tom Barrett’s scandal-ridden radio system] has gone on for far too long, and it’s time for some accountability from the man in charge.

Please visit www.wiwastewatchers.com today then tell Mayor Barrett we need answers.

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Link to printable document

ALARM BELL No. 7: Three-Alarm Blaze Fought Without Radios

Our Firefighters Face Death in Silence as Barrett Snoozes!

A three-alarm fire – simply put – is huge.

Extra trucks and firefighters from throughout the city are called to a fire that cannot be contained.

It’s a blazing inferno, and potentially a death trap for firefighters.

On August 31, 2008, Milwaukee Firefighters report that severe feedback shutdown their OpenSky radios at a three-alarm fire (page 4 of the MFD OpenSky Timeline).

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Did the radio shutdown lead Mayor Tom Barrett to get involved in the scandal…ask a question…wakeup?

No way!

This is the seventh alarm bell in an 11-Alarm series from Citizens for Responsible Government. CRG unearthed the fire department radio scandal as part of a 600-page Open Record request.

At 11 critical points Mayor Tom Barrett failed to show leadership to stop the radio disaster that has put our firefighters at risk of death. And could cause citizens to be injured or killed if radios failed at critical moments.

But, hey, we’ve got some of the highest taxes in America. Who cares if our police and fire radios operate like we’re in a Third World country?

ALARM BELL No. 6: Back Up Fails Too!

C’mon Mayor Tom! Ding Dong . . . Hear the Alarms!

If crashing the fire radio system on January 9, 2010 wasn’t bad enough, imagine the dread firefighters felt when the back up system crashed the same day.

Internal Milwaukee fire department documents reveal that not only did the OpenSky radios fail on January 9, 2010, but so did the back up system.

Complete radio silence! And, complete radio silence from Mayor Tom Barrett on the OpenSky scandal! Not a peep from our fearless leader.

No main radios. No back ups. Alarm bell. Mayor Tom Barrett! Are you listening? Your firefighters are on the street WITH NO RADIOS!!!!

Here’s how Andra Williams described the meltdown in a memo the next Monday.

Williams' memo is one of 600 documents obtained by Citizens for Responsible Government, under Wisconsin’s Open Records Act.

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We are releasing the 11 Alarm Bells that Mayor Barrett should have heard as a public service to reveal the incompetence at City Hall that has plagued the OpenSky radios.

Six Alarms to date!

When will Mayor Barrett respond?

Who knows?

We have five more alarms to release!

You’d think 11 alarms would wake up Mayor Tom from his blissful leadership slumber.

Mayor Tom has raised taxes every year he’s been in office. You’d think protecting cops and firefighters would be possible in a city that taxes its citizens like they’re in Norway. At least in Norway, the police and fire radios work.

ALARM BELL No. 5: Citywide Radio Blackout Threatens Firefighters Lives

On Jan. 9, 2010, radio silence enveloped Milwaukee’s firefighters.

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Click Here for Full Exhibit (see page 8 of 92 pages of failure)

Shouldn’t that be an alarm bell for Mayor Tom Barrett that maybe it’s time to get new radios?

This is Alarm Bell Number Five for Mayor Tom.  Citizens for Responsible Government is revealing the 11 Alarms as a series of exposes about the OpenSky radio scandal.

CRG has obtained over 600 documents regarding the failed radios from the Milwaukee Fire Department, under the Open Records Act.

OpenSky is the failed radio system that the city has wasted over $18 million to install and maintain for police, fire and other departments. So the system crashes, and thankfully there’s a backup system, right? But, stay tuned for Alarm Bell Number 6. If Mayor Barrett didn’t hear Alarm Bell Five, he really should have heard Number 6! Stay tuned. The story continues.

ALARM BELL No. 4: Not Intrinsically Safe!

Doesn’t Alarm Bell No.4 say it all, Mayor Barrett?

So, you’re the Mayor of Milwaukee. And the cop radios don’t work after almost $20 million in taxpayer dollars wasted.

And, so you expand the failed the broken radios into the Fire Department - BEFORE you can get them to work. That makes sense right?

Well that’s exactly what Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett did – putting cops, firefighters and citizens at risk of injury and death.

Now, Citizens for Responsible Government has launched a probe into the OpenSky scandal in the fire department. After combing through over 600 pages of documents, we have found 11 Alarm Bells Mayor Barrett should have heard.

Our fourth alarm bell is the repeated internal fire department emails and communications that labeled the radios as “not intrinsically safe” and “posed a safety hazard to the Milwaukee Fire Department and citizens of Milwaukee.”

At one point, an employee of the OpenSky radio manufacturer asked if the department had the right batteries and if they were immerseable.

Whoa. Don’t fire department batteries need to work in water? The chief even told his staff to stop charging the batteries.

On May 13, 2008, the department found the radios unsafe and hazardous.

On May 29, 2008, Douglas Holton signed a document that said: “The radios are NOT safe.”

If you’re the mayor, isn’t your first job to protect the citizens and the cops and firefighters?

Alarm Bell Four. Not Intrinsically Safe. And our Mayor doesn’t have the intrinsic leadership abilities to fix a deadly situation for our cops and firefighters!

Exhibit 29: Sept. 26, 2007 - Link to Full Exhibit

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Exhibit 36:  May 13, 2008 - Link to Full Exhibit

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Exhibit 37: May 29, 2008 - Link to Full Exhibit

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Alarm Bell #3: September 11, A Day That Lives in Infamy for Mayor Tom Barrett

You’d think that the anniversary of the most massive and deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil would get the attention of the mayor if he found out our firefighters can’t talk to other departments and agencies.

Not our Mayor Barrett. This is Alarm Bell No. 3 for our mayor in our 11-part series of the mayoral meltdown on the faulty fire radios of the OpenSky scandal.

On Sept. 11, 2007, the Milwaukee Fire Department completely missed activating the system needed to allow firefighters to talk to each other and other responders.

This is more than a year after Mayor Barrett PAID FOR a system that was already years late.

From the Department’s investigation:

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Great idea, pay for the stuff that doesn’t work. That’ll never lead to years more of delay, poor service and failed technology. OOPS, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Mayor Barrett hit the snooze button again. Not a word. Not a peep. Not a memo. Not a news release. Nada!

Check this document out.  MFD “completely misses” MABAS activation – Sept. 11, 2007.

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What was Mayor Barrett doing on 9-11-07? Not ensuring his fire department could communicate with other departments. MABAS stands for Mutual Aid Box Alarm System. 9-11-01 showed the importance of emergency service systems being able to communicate with one another. MABAS was adopted as the system to allow regional departments to work together as mandated by law. Barrett apparently missed the delay in implementation.

You can’t expect Mayor Barrett to do anything, he’s only the Mayor!

In fairness, while he was putting his police officers and firefighters in daily danger by ignoring the part of his job where he does stuff, at least he has people who make sure the bills are paid.

Click to view the lists of exhibits cited above.  Read the source documents then ask yourself, "Where the heck was 'Mayor Milk Carton' when all this was going on?"  Unbelievable!

Exhibit 6
Exhibit 7
Exhibit 12
Exhibit 13
Exhibit 27
Exhibit 41