For decades, the Social Development Commission focused on ending poverty in Milwaukee County, providing vital social services like tax assistance and job training to low-income residents.
Now, its future is far from certain.
Two years after financial chaos halted its operations, the county’s premier anti-poverty agency has no active programs, little to no remaining funds and a mounting pile of legal judgments.
This week, the SDC board has convened a series of critical meetings as commissioners openly weigh bankruptcy options.
Here is what you need to know to catch up on the agency’s crisis.
Some background
The organization ceased regular operations in April 2024 due to financial turmoil. Since then, SDC has gone back through the agency’s accounting records and tried to pursue reimbursements owed for services, while dealing with dwindling financial resources, board turnover and conflict, lawsuits and government audits.
SDC fought to keep its community action agency designation, which allowed the agency to receive a federal block grant to support its anti-poverty work, but the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families removed it late last year.
The board continues to meet to figure out its next steps for the organization.
Bankruptcy talk
At an emergency meeting Sept. 14, the SDC board voted to gather more information on bankruptcy options and out-of-court alternatives.
“I am not a fan of bankruptcy unless legal counsel advises me otherwise, which to date I’ve not yet heard,” said Jorge Franco, interim CEO of SDC and chair of the board. “SDC needs to pay whatever it owes in whatever time it takes.”
Commissioners made plans to meet three times this week in informational sessions about bankruptcy and financial records that limit the number of board members to four, or less than a quorum needed for a public meeting.
“Under the structure of only four commissioners present for the sessions, any commissioner can freely speak without the need to disclose to the public legal strategies,” Franco said.
The board is hosting a public meeting virtually on at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to elect board officers.
SDC last elected officers in November 2024 and normally holds elections annually, according to the SDC bylaws.
Multiple lawsuits for SDC
Some companies that claim they are owed money from SDC have filed lawsuits and received judgments, including $186,500 in a lawsuit from three weatherization vendors and $240,100 in a lawsuit filed by 20 Volga 9004 Lincoln LLC, which had owned a building that SDC rented an office in until September 2025.
SDC is in negotiations with TriShulla LLC, an information technology company that is suing SDC, to get the outstanding liability down to $207,000 from around $479,000, Franco said at Thursday’s meeting.
“Because they know bankruptcy is an option for SDC, they have been willing to have these discussions,” he said.
Franco said SDC is also in settlement discussions with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to claim unpaid wage and benefits owed to former SDC employees.
Future of SDC buildings
SD Properties Inc., the tax-exempt property corporation affiliated with SDC, avoided tax foreclosure on the SDC building on Teutonia Avenue by paying its 2024 property tax bill.
The Office of the City Treasurer submitted a certification for redemption for the property at 6850 N. Teutonia Ave. and notified the Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office. That certification came before a court hearing on Aug. 20 regarding that property and other parcels that had unpaid delinquent property taxes.
SD Properties is exempt from paying tax on assessed property value but still is required to pay for storm water, water, sewer and other delinquent municipal services or utilities on its combined tax bill.
The SD Properties board, chaired by attorney Vincent Bobot, is looking to convene to avoid tax foreclosure again next year.
The Teutonia building currently owes $7,025.98 in its unpaid 2025 tax bill, which will continue to accrue interest.
SDC no longer has access to its former headquarters at 1730 W. North Ave. and nearby warehouse building after mortgage lender Forward Community Investments pursued foreclosure and repossessed the properties early this year.
Walnut Way Conservation Corp., a Lindsay Heights nonprofit that focuses on environmental stewardship, community engagement and economic development, is seeking to acquire the former SDC headquarters on North Avenue.
Along with the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp., the organization hopes to buy and turn the property into its Milwaukee Interagency Resiliency & Access Centers for Learning & Equity, or MIRACLE Campus.
What’s next?
SDC commissioners are meeting privately on Wednesday and Thursday this week to discuss bankruptcy options and other out-of-court alternatives.
The board is hosting a public meeting virtually on at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to elect board officers.
Another meeting is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. Board members stated during the Sept. 14 meeting that they plan to report to the community on that day a more clear plan for how the organization will move forward.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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