Waukesha Freeman
Published Dec 20, 2017
Hannah Weikel
Waukesha — An intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Waukesha and Milwaukee — part of the larger Great Lakes water sale — was unanimously approved by the Common Council Tuesday.
The agreement — allowing a $2.5 million payment to Milwaukee in 2020 — and water contract will be signed by Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett this morning at the Waukesha County Business Alliance building.
The document approved by the council Tuesday includes three pieces that don’t relate directly to water, including an agreement to abide by the Milwaukee 7 Code of Ethics, a promise to hold an annual meeting between the municipalities on opportunities to improve availability of skilled workers in the communities and a nonsolicitation agreement that the two cities won’t lure businesses away from each other.
District 4 Ald. Joe Pieper said those pieces don’t detract from it being a “water only deal” and those provisions are things that Waukesha and Milwaukee were either already working on or should be working on together.
The Milwaukee Common Council has already approved the intergovernmental agreement.