Taylors Ethics Statements Still Not Correct - Engage Franklin, what are you Hiding?
HEADLINES
Steve Taylors Ethics Statements Still Not Correct - Maybe the 3rd Time to Get it Right?
Supervisor Taylor did not disclose that he may have given and/or received Tickets on Ethics Statement
Supervisor Taylor did not disclose that he is/was associated with two Franklin Organizations on Ethics Statement
Engage Franklin - We HAD IT RIGHT ALL ALONG - another Zimmerman fake 501(c)(4) with Taylors Involvement
And Over at the Franklin Debate and Discussion Group
Steve Taylors Ethics Statements Still Not Correct - Maybe the 3rd Time to Get it Right?
It appears that after two attempts to correct his ethics statement, County Supervisor Steve Taylor may need to correct it
Again ......
for a Third time.
On December 18, 2023 Vanessa Swales with the Milwaukee JournalSentinel reported "for years County Supervisor Taylor omitted his financial ties to the Rock (ROC Foundation that he is the Executive Director) and was updating his ethics statement. Franklin Community News (FCN) has previously reported on the misuse of the Not for profit ROC Foundation by Taylor and Mike Zimmerman, CEO ROC Ventures. A complaint was subsequently filed to the IRS and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.
On December 22, 2023 Vanessa Swales also reported that County Supervisor Taylor "failed to disclose his employment with the eponymous firm, Steve Taylor Consulting, LLC, in his statement of economic interest and would be updating the ethics form again.
In the December 18th JournalSentinel article Taylor was quoted as saying "I don't like making mistakes not do I like making the same mistake twice. Moving forward I guarantee that my SEI will be filed out correctly," Taylor said.
Supervisor Taylor did not disclose that he is/was associated with two Franklin Organizations on Ethics Statement
Franklin Community News (FCN) has been made aware that Supervisor Taylor did not disclose that he is/was associated with the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce or Engage Franklin as required on the ethics statement.
Milwaukee County Code of Ethics 9.04(1)(a) requires County Supervisors to disclose
"The identity of every significant fiduciary relationship, organization associated with and the offices and directorships held by him/her or his/her spouse"
A review of the online membership listing of the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce identified that Steve Taylor is not listed as a member. Milwaukee County and ROC Ventures are listed as members but Taylor is not listed under either membership by name. Additionally there is no listing for the ROC Foundation. The South Suburban Chamber seemed to favor the ROC last year as many events were held at the venue according to their calendar and Facebook Page.
FCN has received multiple pictures of Taylor attending various South Suburban Chamber events (monthly speaker events, breakfasts, after hours, ribbon cuttings) over the last year. The last time FCN published more than three items from the South Suburban Chamber Facebook page it received a cease and desist from its attorney. Feel free to review the posts over the last year for yourself at South Suburban Chamber of Commerce. Taylor did not list the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce as an organization that he associated with on his ethics disclosure.
FCN called the number listed for Engage Franklin to verify some information it had received as it relates to Taylors involvement in Engage in addition to other information it was not able to access. The number did not have a recording but indicated "The wireless customer you are calling is not available." A few minutes later FCN received the following via text from Laura Nelson, the former Executive Director of Engage Franklin.
Nelson - it's laura. I'm traveling today, and have a really packed couple of days ahead. please let me know if there's something you need or if you'd like to set up a time to talk.FCN - Hi Laura would appreciate talking this week. Most important is who is the Engage President and who is the Engage Rep on the South Suburban Chamber. If you could let me know I would like to be accurate. Also is Steve Taylor associated with Engage? Thanks hope you had a joyful Christmas. Thx
Nelson - Thanks for your patience, I am now back to the real world! Darrel Malek is the Board President. There is no Chamber representative.
Nelson - I asked Steve Taylor to assist me and the Board during the launch of Engage because of his institutional knowledge of Franklin. He agreed only as a non-voting member.
Though no longer officially affiliated, he remains supportive of the organization and its initiatives.
Taylor did not list Engage Franklin as an organization that he associated with on his ethics disclosure.
Supervisor Taylor did not disclose that he may have given and/or received Tickets on Ethics Statement
FCN was also made aware that County Supervisor Taylor did not identify on his ethics statement "Tickets" that he may have received related to his duties as a county supervisor."
"Tickets to sporting or theatrical events, golfing fees, prizes, samples of promotional items from sales representatives or as part of business promotions and similar items."
FCN was also provided evidence that County Supervisor Taylor may have provided Tickets to the County Board Chairwomen and Staff at the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce.
Milwaukee County Code of Ethics 9.04(2)(a)
"No financial gain or anything of substantial value: Except as otherwise provided or approved by the county board, no county public official or employee shall use his/her public position or office to obtain financial gain or anything of substantial value for the private benefit of himself/herself or his/her immediate family, or for an organization with which he/she is associated. This paragraph does not prohibit a county elected official from using the title or prestige of his/her office to obtain campaign contributions that are permitted by and reported as required by ch. 11, Wis. Stats."
(b) "No person may offer anything of value: No person shall offer or give to any public official or employee, directly or indirectly, and no public official or employee shall solicit or accept from any person, directly or indirectly, anything of value if it could reasonably be expected to influence the public official's or employee's vote, official actions or judgment, or could reasonably be considered as a reward for any official action or inaction or omission by of the public official or employee. This section does not prohibit a public official or an employee from engaging in outside employment."
FCN has previously ran stories on Engage Franklin calling into question the organizations relationship to ROC Ventures and the scheme to access Franklins hotel room tax to benefit the ROC, all beginning with the 1.5 Million Dollar Naming Rights Sponsorship of "Franklin Field". FCN also reported that it filed a complaint with the IRS and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions against the ROC Ventures affiliated Engage Franklin.
It appears that Ms. Nelson is still playing a leadership role in Engage for being currently not employed by Engage. FCN believes that the reason Engage does not want to provide the list of Board Members is that the "scrutiny" will show a relationship of many of the board members to ROC Ventures and Zimmerman, thus proving that Engage Franklin is and always was a scam as initiated by Zimmerman as part of the agreement for 1.5 Million in Naming Rights for "Franklin Field". Engage Franklin was NEVER about Franklin but about ROC Ventures, Zimmerman, and Taylor.
FCN - Thanks, I do appreciate you getting back to me. Please know NONE of my issues and concerns are directed at you.
FCN - Is there a list of board members of Engage?
FCN - Also im trying to understand why the Chamber received free Enchant Tickets to give away and why no other featured Enchant non profit listed their night to support Engage. What is Engage role with the non profit night and why would Engage be specifically called out by South Suburban Chamber and no other non profit?
Nelson - It's very unfortunate that you appear determined to disrupt our progress and I encourage you to wait for the mid-January Council Meeting when we intend to make a full presentation that will answer your questions and will address your concerns. While I believe you've already been advised of this, you will find Engage Franklin to be a truly positive organization that is very specifically structured to serve and benefit ALL of Franklin.
FCN - Unfortunately I disagree. This serves nothing but Zimmerman and the ROC. Please tell me one thing Engage did to create transient tourism, hotel stays, or serve the local hospitality sector as a result of Enchant? People who were coming to Enchant from a distance were going to stay anyway. Separate from promoting Enchant, Engage did Nothing to promote Franklin Hospitality Businesses. Most of us are aware that Engage is all about Zimmerman and ROC Ventures. It was announced you were not on the payroll any more at the last Tourism Commission meeting?
Nelson - As your issues and concerns are obviously directed at me, I am discontinuing this conversation for my own comfort and safety.
Please accept this correspondence as a request for open records.
"No financial gain or anything of substantial value: Except as otherwise provided or approved by the county board, no county public official or employee shall use his/her public position or office to obtain financial gain or anything of substantial value for the private benefit of himself/herself or his/her immediate family, or for an organization with which he/she is associated. This paragraph does not prohibit a county elected official from using the title or prestige of his/her office to obtain campaign contributions that are permitted by and reported as required by ch. 11, Wis. Stats."
(b) "No person may offer anything of value: No person shall offer or give to any public official or employee, directly or indirectly, and no public official or employee shall solicit or accept from any person, directly or indirectly, anything of value if it could reasonably be expected to influence the public official's or employee's vote, official actions or judgment, or could reasonably be considered as a reward for any official action or inaction or omission by of the public official or employee. This section does not prohibit a public official or an employee from engaging in outside employment."
(f) "No offer of gifts or anything of value: No county public official shall offer or give anything of value to a member or employee of a county department or entity, while that member or employee is associated with the county department or entity, and no member or employee of a department shall solicit or accept from any such person anything of value from a county official or employee."
Franklin Community News made an open records request of County Supervisor Taylor as well as County Board Chairwomen Marcelia Nicholson's Ethics Statements. Neither of their ethics statements disclose giving and/or receiving tickets. It is possible the tickets may have been purchased. FCN has also provided this information to Vanessa Swales at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Engage Franklin - We HAD IT RIGHT ALL ALONG - another Zimmerman fake 501(c)(4) with Taylors Involvement
Franklin Community News received a tip that on December 14, 2023 the South Suburban Chamber of Commerce had a chamber Night at Enchant. This in itself is a great opportunity that Enchant (ROC Ventures) has been providing to many local non profits to generate 5% of ticket sales back to the featured non profit. What is a bit interesting about this specific featured non profit night is that the South Suburban Chamber promoted it as "In Support of Engage Franklin"
The South Suburban Chamber sent out the following email:
In addition, according to the South Suburban Facebook Page, Engage Franklin donated tickets to Enchant Milwaukee for a networking prize. FCN searched the South Suburban Chamber directory for membership of Engage Franklin. Engage Franklin is listed as a member with an address of 7044 Ballpark Drive, Suite 300 (ROC Ventures), a phone number of 262-994-2849, and a web link to the Celebrate Franklin Page, the Tourism Commission for the City of Franklin. There is NO contact name for Engage Franklin, not even the President of the Board.
What is apparent is in all of the Facebook Posts from many nonprofits over the last month as featured nonprofits of Enchant, not one has mentioned Engage Franklin and no other group has indicated in any posts that they have received Enchant Tickets to give away for Enchant.
So whats the concern? FCN is alleging that Steve Taylor provided tickets to the South Suburban Chamber under Engage Franklin and the cross promotion to Engage Franklin from the South Suburban Chamber was due to Taylors influence along with that of ROC Ventures CEO Mike Zimmerman. Taylor is the Executive Director of ROC Foundation and as a result of over 3000 open records from Taylor to the City of Franklin identified that Taylor was dong mostly operational and Government Relations work for ROC Ventures while being paid as Executive Director of a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization, and potentially working to establish Engage Franklin (another ROC Ventures/Zimmerman "trojan horse" 501(c)(4) non profit, which is illegal.
FCN has previously ran stories on Engage Franklin calling into question the organizations relationship to ROC Ventures and the scheme to access Franklins hotel room tax to benefit the ROC, all beginning with the 1.5 Million Dollar Naming Rights Sponsorship of "Franklin Field". FCN also reported that it filed a complaint with the IRS and the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions against the ROC Ventures affiliated Engage Franklin.
At the last Franklin Tourism Commission meeting on December 13, 2023 the Commission was informed by Commissioner Wylie, who also serves on the Engage Franklin Board, that Laura Nelson the former Executive Director is no longer being employed by Engage Franklin but wishes to be a member of the Engage Franklin board.
When FCN called the phone number listed for Engage Franklin there was no response. However FCN did receive a follow up text from Ms. Nelson indicating if there is something we needed or did we want to talk. In response to a couple questions via text Ms. Nelson provided the relationship to Mr. Taylor in the article above and indicated Darrell Malek is the Board President. Malek's Linked in profile identifies him as the Owner of Point After Pub, President of Starfire Systems in Franklin, and President of Engage Franklin since April 2023.
FCN did ask Ms. Nelson for a list of all board members of Engage Franklin and her response via text was "Engage Franklin Board Members are volunteers and it's not appropriate to subject them to this scrutiny without their collective consent." FCN responded to Ms. Nelson "Engage Franklin is a 501(c)(4) non profit organization and public record according to the IRS". If Engage is not wiling to provide the list we will call the IRS...please let us know how to proceed". Reply received from Ms. Nelson - "Your concerns and request will be addressed at our next board meeting and I will get back to you."
The IRS indicates - Transparency and Accountability
"By making full and accurate information about its mission, activities, finance, and
governance publicly available, a charity encourages transparency and accountability to
its constituents. The Internal Revenue Code requires a charity to make its Form 1023
exemption application, Form 990, and Form 990-T, available for public inspection. The
Internal Revenue Service encourages every charity to adopt and monitor procedures to
ensure that its Form 1023, Form 990, Form 990-T, annual reports, and financial
statements, are complete and accurate, are posted on its public website, and are made
available to the public upon request. Organizations that file Form 990 will find that Part
VI, Section C, Lines 18 and 19, ask whether and how an organization makes its Form
1023, Form 990 and Form 990-T, governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and
financial statements available to the public. "
Following is the additional text string between FCN and Ms. Nelson on December 18, 2023:
FCN - Is there a list of board members of Engage?
FCN - Also im trying to understand why the Chamber received free Enchant Tickets to give away and why no other featured Enchant non profit listed their night to support Engage. What is Engage role with the non profit night and why would Engage be specifically called out by South Suburban Chamber and no other non profit?
Nelson - It's very unfortunate that you appear determined to disrupt our progress and I encourage you to wait for the mid-January Council Meeting when we intend to make a full presentation that will answer your questions and will address your concerns. While I believe you've already been advised of this, you will find Engage Franklin to be a truly positive organization that is very specifically structured to serve and benefit ALL of Franklin.
FCN - Unfortunately I disagree. This serves nothing but Zimmerman and the ROC. Please tell me one thing Engage did to create transient tourism, hotel stays, or serve the local hospitality sector as a result of Enchant? People who were coming to Enchant from a distance were going to stay anyway. Separate from promoting Enchant, Engage did Nothing to promote Franklin Hospitality Businesses. Most of us are aware that Engage is all about Zimmerman and ROC Ventures. It was announced you were not on the payroll any more at the last Tourism Commission meeting?
Nelson - As your issues and concerns are obviously directed at me, I am discontinuing this conversation for my own comfort and safety.
FCN - Not at all directed at you announced at a public meeting and I am verifying. I appreciate the dialog.
FCN submitted an open records request to the City of Franklin requesting the following on December 1, 2023:
1. The currently approved DMO agreement with the City of Franklin and Engage WI,
2. The current Naming rights agreement for Franklin Field with the Milwaukee Milkmen.
3. Any DRAFT Naming Rights Agreement
4. Any emails or correspondence to or from the City of Franklin pertaining to
the naming rights agreement of Franklin Field from January 2021 thru 12/1/23
5. Any emails or correspondence to or from the City of Franklin pertaining to
Engage Franklin from January 2021 thru 12/1/23
6. Any vouchers or checks from the City of Franklin or the Franklin Tourism commission to Engage WI issued to Engage WI from January 2021 thru 12/1/23
7. Any vouchers or checks from the City of Franklin or the Franklin Tourism Commission to ROC Enterprises, ROC Foundation, Mike Zimmerman, Steve Taylor. Milwaukee Milkmen, Ballpark Commons.
Thank you so VERY much in advance.
FCN submitted an open records request to the City of Franklin requesting the following on December 15, 2023:
Seeking an open record of the current members on the Engage Franklin Board. If that is an easy ask, it would be appreciated.
Also looking to confirm that Cari Greving, Director of Tourism was a paid employee full or part time in April thru June of 2021.
FCN will provide an update when it receives the open records requested.
And Over at the Franklin Debate and Discussion Group
This is the group that no one wanted to debate and discuss issues that related to Taylor or Zimmerman. In this group you could always count on Steve Taylor using his Facebook Alias Jill Manning and the co-administrator Mike Paradise using his Facebook alias Gaberiel Lou. This group banned FCN because we dare to challenge the status quo and ask too many questions. Rather than discuss and debate you could always count on Taylor and Zimmerman to post laughing emojis or pictures rather than respond like an adult to concerns from neighbors and residents.
The following post is from one of the administrators of the group:
And....right on cue the following is the response by your County Supervisor Steve Taylor, well those of you that live in the 17th Supervisory District:
Elected officials are suppose to set the standard and rise above laying in the gutter. It appears that some things will never change. We can hope. This post was subsequently removed.
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