The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee fell $1.5 million short of its $3.8 million fundraising goal in 2015, causing it to cut $1.7 million from its 2016 budget, the Y announced on Friday. The reductions will come in operating costs and 15 full-time and five part-time positions. The Y also will reduce the overall compensation of the CEO and COO, upon the proposal of the two executives impacted, the Y's announcement noted.
The Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported that CEO Julie Tolan's $314,586 salary will drop by 40 percent while COO Jack Takerian's $145,393 salary will drop by 20 percent.
The cuts come a year after the Milwaukee Y emerged from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy that it filed in June 2014. On Jan. 30, 2015, the Y announced it had approval from the court for its restructuring plan. The restructuring included the sale or eventual sale of over 70 percent of the Y's owned properties, the closing of the South Shore Y, the sale of the Y's former charter school, transferring select programs to organizations better-equipped to run them long-term, a 55 percent reduction in staff and negotiating the distribution of available sale proceeds, cash and assets to repay as much debt as possible while maintaining a viable financial and operating model.
Other cuts due to the 2016 budget shortfall include the elimination of the Y's diabetes prevention program and discontinuation of the Y's affiliation with the Well City Milwaukee initiative.
In the Y's statement about the cuts, Tolan said: “These actions, while difficult, are the result of a deliberate and thoughtful analysis of our overall operations in light of our funding gap and the environment in which we operate. Rather than make marginal cuts that further weaken the organization, we instead made the hard choice to eliminate select initiatives that while worthy and impactful, simply are not self-sustaining. We are deeply sorry for the impact these difficult decisions will have on our colleagues and those we serve, and are committed to doing whatever we can to ease this difficult transition.”