This essay is in progress. Please report any errors of fact or grammar. Opinions are those of Bob Graf only.
This is a story of how a small group took over the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Milwaukee and changed its mission and purpose and how a small group is now trying to restore the Society to its original mission and purpose. To keep the story brief I will refer to articles and documents we have shared with you in the past.
Small Group takes over Milwaukee SVDP
Power, Money and Central Control
|
In the 90’s, the former executive director of the Milwaukee St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) decided to make basic structural changes to the Milwaukee SVDP Society. The central office was moved from North Central Milwaukee to a stand-alone-office building on the outskirts of the city. The former director designed a computer system to match a person in need, who calls the central office for help, with a parish SVDP conference based on the geographic location of the caller and the geographic boundaries of the Catholic Church with an SVDP conference. The system remains in place despite being outdated for the following reasons: there is newer and better GPS technology; there has been a significant reduction of Catholic Churches with SVDP conferences 1 in the two poorest areas of the city, North Central and South Central Milwaukee; and Catholic Church membership is no longer confined to geographic locations of churches. The result is that calls for assistance to central office are being met with this response: “We do not have a Catholic Church with a SVDP conference in your area.” Also, since the SVDP conferences in areas of poverty are few and financially limited, the call is also met at times with the “conference is not serving people at this time.” In conferences all over the world and many areas of the US Vincentians “cross the tracks” to make home visits to people in need.
Home visit are the Main
Mission of SVDPTwining 2, a wealthy conference financially supporting a conference in need, is a long established practice in the Society of SVDP. However, in Milwaukee, the former Director created a “Needy Conference Fund” where donations by individual Vincentians and financially well off conferences go into an “independent fund” at the central office as a replacement for twining. However, as the SVDP Milwaukee Council budget has rapidly increased to now around 3.5 million dollars the funds in the Needy Conference Fund in the budget had been staying around $100,000 -$120,000. The number of needy conferences and their financial need have also increased as budget allocations have been staying even. SVDP staff claims The Needy Conference Fund is an independent fund but when a $100,000 donation was solicited by the Executive Director in 2014 and granted by a Church receiving over a million dollars from the closing and sale of a Catholic Church with an active SVDP conference, the money never made it to the Needy Conference Fund. The Needy Conference Fund in the projected budget for 2015–2016 has a 840% increase that is suspicious and might be a bookkeeping manipulation if the money, as it seems, is not going to needy conferences. In addition Conferences in Milwaukee SVDP need to reimburse SVDP stores operated by central office 100% of value of voucher for beds, clothing and household items given to people in need. Thus, money from Needy Conference Fund makes its way back to the Central Office General Fund.
Since the nineties, paid staff for Milwaukee SVDP has grown to over 75 persons presently consuming about one million dollars or 30% of 2015–2016 projected budget and 49% of SVDP projected budget for 2014–2015. (Actual budget for 2014–2015 is not available to members of Milwaukee SVDP.) There has been a large turnover of staff since the nineties but two of the staff hired by the former executive director are now in the key paid positions of executive director and executive financial director, receiving compensation of $105,595 and $77,214 respectfully. The former executive director, although retired with a pension and being paid as director of the Archdiocese Council of St. Vincent de Paul, continues to receive a salary from Milwaukee SVDP. 3
Today, this large paid staff of Milwaukee St.Vincent de Paul is accountable to the Executive Director who is only accountable to the President of the Milwaukee Council who, in turn, is accountable to an 11 member Board of Directors, eight of whom the President appoints. The current President was elected by Presidents of Conferences in a process that was challenged by a number of Vincentians as not in accordance to Rules and Bylaws of SVDP. The challenge has been ignored by Archdiocese and the National councils of SVDP.
In 1995, under the direction of the former Executive Director, Milwaukee SVDP purchased a closed Catholic Church property in North Central Milwaukee and made it a Resource Center, a social service agency staffed by paid social workers to serve people in need. This was done over the objection of Vincentians who claimed that being a social service agency was not in accord with the Mission of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. After about 15 years and a loss of about $7.5 million dollars the agency was closed and now the property is on the market to be sold with proceeds designated for the new suburban Greenfield store.
In January 2014 it was made public that a select group of Milwaukee SVDP staff and leaders had made an offer to purchase part of a building in the suburb of Greenfield for a Thrift store. There were immediate objections by Vincentians that staff refused to allow Presidents to consider. On March 1, 2014 28 of 55 Presidents of Conferences at the urging of staff and consultants, voted to loan 3.2 million dollars to purchase and renovate a Thrift Store in the suburbs. This was the last vote made by Milwaukee Council of Presidents. Many efforts by Vincentians, presidents of conferences and an executive board member to discuss and reconsider this decision were ignored by Milwaukee, Archdiocesan and National SVDP officials.
In March 2014, the city Greenfield held a public hearing on granting an occupancy permit for the proposed suburban SVDP Thrift Store. Backed by 154 petitions, two Vicentians presented why the permit should be denied and how, since the mission of SVDP Thrift store was to “serve Christ’s needy”, a store was much better needed in North Central Milwaukee and not in the Greenfield suburb. A real estate developer spoke on behalf of the Milwaukee St.Vicent de Paul for granting the permit. The permit was denied, despite the real estate developer and central SVDP office officials agreeing to pay the City Of Greenfield money in lieu of taxes and to participate in a condo organization that is considering building stairs to a little league field adjacent to the property. However, only two weeks later the permit was granted without a public hearing or discussion. The two Vincentians that presented the people’s request to deny the permit were eventually suspended by the President of the National Council of SVDP. The real estate developer, reportedly not a Catholic, was appointed to the Executive Board by Council President.
Over the years, since in the 90’s, the budget, donations and expenses of the Milwaukee Saint Vincent de Paul have become more and more secret to members of the Society and to the public. The same group of auditors, allegedly connected to a staff member, year after year audit the SVDP Milwaukee ledger. Calls for an independent audit have gone ignored. Budget questions have gone unanswered. One example is the amount invested in the Greenfield budget which now exceeds over four million dollars. From statements by a few in the small group in control and from limited budget reports the Greenfield store had a deficit of $488,000–1.3 million dollars for its first seven months of operation. From what is projected, it will generate a small profit in 2015–2016 or another loss. Budgets have been approved with about $250,000 deficits each year draining the SVDP ‘trust fund’. The 2014–2015 actual budget and the 2015–2016 detailed budget were not presented or approved by the Milwaukee Council of St. Vincent de Paul as its annual Presidents meeting.
Stuggle to Restore Milwaukee St. Vincent de Paul Society
Reforming SVDP
For the first 100 years of its existence, 1849-1949, the Milwaukee SVDP was true to its mission. With structural changes to Milwaukee SVDP by a small group since the 1990’s, it is easy to see why the poor, Vincentians and others have been working to restore SVDP to its mission. The present movement for reform crystallized in January of 2014 when a small group of staff, consultants and Vincentians announced that it had made an offer to purchase part of a building in Greenfield for 1.8 million dollars and was planning to use 1.4 million dollars to renovate the building into a thrift store for people in suburbs of Milwaukee. This announcement, by a small group highlighted how far the Milwaukee SVDP had strayed not only from the mission of St. Vincent de Paul but also the Mission of a SVDP Thrift store which is to “serve Christ’s needy.” The group was composed of former SVDP staff members, Vincentians and the poor who “all money of St. Vincent belongs to”. Members of this group attempted to point out to the small group in control the disastrous consequences of spending ‘money belonging to the poor’ on the suburbs and the need for a SVDP Thrift Store in North Central Milwaukee. 4 Members struggled unsuccessfully for reconsideration of the vote of 28 of 54 council members to seek 3.2 million dollar loans and questioned the legitimacy of election of Council President. At first they were allowed to express their concerns but there was no real dialog and discussion. Eventually they were ignored, members were suspended or threatened with suspension from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Some were rewarded or threatened out of the reform group by members of the group in power.
After being stonewalled, members of the small group joined by low income people of various racial groups, held a peaceful, nonviolent picket on the sidewalk before the grand opening celebration of the Greenfield store in July, 2015. After the grand opening celebration and after the Archbishop and media had left, city of Greenfield police forcibly removed people who had protested. The Mayor of Greenfield and members of the small group in power declared the order for the removal of poor was made because “some were planning to get arrested”, an allegation that was never substantiated.
After yet another attempt to dialog with the small group controlling SVDP, the small resistance and reform group picketed the central office before a bi-monthly Board meeting. The office was closed before they got there and the board meeting cancelled.
This small reform group wrote a position paper with the demand that— No More Money, belonging to the poor,5 after the 4 million plus already spent, be used for the Greenfield store. But were still ignored.
Now the small group seeking reform of the Milwaukee SVDP is seeking to work with the Archbishop of Milwaukee who is charged with overseeing all Catholic Organizations in the diocese. Hopefully he will work with the these people seeking to reform and restore the Milwaukee SVDP council to its mission and vision and restore control to the people, Vincentians and people in need.
