Office of the Comptroller

W. Martin Morics
CPA, Comptroller

W. Martin "Wally" Morics was first elected City of Milwaukee Comptroller in 1992, and was re-elected in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Prior to his election, Morics served as Milwaukee's Deputy Comptroller from 1976 to 1992.

A Certified Public Accountant, Morics has a Masters Degree in Business Administration with a Finance major from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in accounting from Northwestern University. He has been a supervising senior accountant with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co. in Chicago and a partner in a regional CPA firm in Leadville, Colorado.

Morics is active in the American and Wisconsin Institutes of Certified Public Accountants, and retains membership in the Illinois Society of Certified Public Accountants. In addition, he is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association and the Milwaukee Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.

Highlights:

The Comptroller is the City's chief financial officer and serves a four year term. Under State statute and City charter, Morics is empowered to administer the City's financial affairs. His Office exercises fiscal control over the activities of approximately 40 City departments and agencies. As City Comptroller, Morics serves on the Board of Directors for: Wisconsin Center District (formerly known as MECCA); Milwaukee World Festivals, Inc. (Summerfest); and, the Pabst Theater. He is the Chair of the City's Deferred Compensation Board, the Secretary to the Public Debt Commission, and a member of the Annuity and Pension Board.

• City bond rating remains a high City investment grade: AA+ by Fitch IBCA; Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service; AA by Standard & Poors.
• Establish accounting policies and procedures for all city departments. Prepares the Milwaukee's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and the State of Wisconsin Report (Form B) which helps determine the State shared revenues.
• Issued his tenth annual Review of Lending Practices of Financial Institutions in 2001. The report analyses the trends in residential and business lending in a target area of Milwaukee where home ownership is lowest. 
• Management of the $600+ million City debt program. Oversees periodic refinancing of city debt to take advantage of any available lower interest rates and save taxpayers interest costs.
• Established a Debt Coordination Working Group, which reviews debt issuance patterns and examines ways to minimize debt load on its citizens while meeting essential capital improvement needs over the following five years. The fifth report was issued in 2001. 
• Special assessment borrowing, which began in 1989, has produced added interest earnings totaling nearly $3 million over the past twelve years.
• Cash flow borrowing generates between $1 and $2 million annually in additional interest earnings. 
• Operational, financial and legal compliance audits of City department operations including apartment garbage collection; Police Department property control; and permit center cash processing. The Comptroller also provides an independent financial assessment of all proposed Tax Incremental (economic development) Districts. 
• Fiscal administration of the City's Community Development Block Grant program and all federal and state grants to Milwaukee, in excess of $70 million in 2000. Preparation of the City's Single Audit Report.
• Administration of direct deposit pay option for more than 4,476 City employees enrolled in the program, which began in 1995.
• Production of approximately 210,000 payroll documents annually for City employees, and maintenance of the City's integrated payroll system.
• Independent financial analysis of proposed development projects. Such analyses have resulted in higher returns on city economic development investments while lowering financial risks.
• Independent, professional estimation of City revenues for the annual City Budget 2001 Budget: $4,253,105; 2002 Budget: $4,853,936; 2003 Budget: 5,005,043.