The West Allis Chamber of Commerce is proud of its vigorous business climate and is a strong advocate of community involvement. Its directory lists over 400 members covering everything from accountants to video productions.

Commerce and industry are king and queen here. Since 1985, West Allis has consistently maintained unemployment rates below the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The current rate is less than 2 percent, less than half Milwaukee's 4.3 percent.

The other side of the coin is that all this economic vigor leaves the residents of West Allis with a higher-than-average expendable income, or "buying power". West Allis residents have a per capita and household "Effective Buying Income" (EBI) exceeding the state and national average.

West Allis' healthy economy has led to considerable commercial and industrial expansion. Several vacant industrial buildings in the older eastern industrial section of the city have been purchased and are either occupied or are being redeveloped. Vacant land in the western end of the city has been acquired for several commercial and residential projects. [Top of Page]

West Allis boasts several art galleries. The City Hall Gallery is open to the public eight months of the year, free of charge. It exhibits local, state and national works of art, as well as shows for students and faculty of area art schools. The Gallery also exhibits works by local citizens and art associations at the annual Fountain Art Fair on Memorial Day Weekend. Other commercial art galleries are located in West Allis and in nearby communities.

Community theater is alive and well in West Allis. The West Allis Players, winners of many state competition awards, stage several plays - comedies, musicals, dramas and more year 'round at the West Allis High School auditoriums.

Several local organizations also offer a variety of live theatrical and musical entertainment. The Toastmasters, Milwaukee Area Radio Enthusiasts, Pommersche Tanzdeel Freistadt ethnic dancers, Songwriters of Wisconsin, Project Create Music Art and Dance, Suburban Singers, Silent Singers, West Allis Radio Amateur Club, West Allis Music Club, all preserve, develop and present artistic talent of all kinds. Local universities and colleges, too, present theatrical productions.

The Milwaukee Performing Arts Center is home to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and presents a broad spectrum of musical productions throughout the year, including ballet and opera. The Milwaukee Repertory Company also provides a wide variety of theatrical productions.

The West Allis Historical Society maintains and operates its own museum and research library to preserve the rich history of the community. Built in 1887, the museum itself is a Wisconsin Historical Landmark and houses displays of local area artifacts, photographs and archival documents. [Top of Page]

West Allis is wealthy in the things that make life interesting and enjoyable for the whole family. Whatever you like to do, there are likely others who like to do it too! And, they have formed organizations and clubs to bring people with common interests, hobbies and pastimes together.

Whether your interests lie in community service, historical pursuits, politics and government, literature, quilting and other crafts, sports, your profession, education, socializing, or just meeting "birds of a feather who flock together" you will find your kindred spirits here. West Allis has its own active, home-grown associations as well as local chapters of national organizations.

SOME OF WEST ALLIS" 121 ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDES:

A-C Art Association Boxing Alliance of Wisconsin Art Alliance of West Allis Billiard Congress of Wisconsin American Businesswomen's Association Care for the Care giver Support Group American Association of Retired Persons West Allis Historical Society Daughters of the American Revolution West Allis Home Gardeners Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary West Allis Jaycees Downtown West Allis Association West Allis 4-H Club Floraleers Garden Club Homemakers Club West Allis/Milwaukee Bike Club Kiwanis Club West Allis Bowmen Knights of Columbus West Allis Business and Professional Women League of Women Voters West Allis Chamber of Commerce Lions Club West Allis Citizens League Moose Clubs West Allis Early Settlers Suburban Singers West Allis Friends of the Library American Legion West Allis Music Club Toastmasters West Allis Old Timers Club Veterans of Foreign Wars West Allis Players Community Theater West Allis Rotary Club West Allis Swim Club West Allis Shriners West Allis Weavers Club West Allis Special Olympics West Allis Speed Skaters Club. [Top of Page]

The West Allis/West Milwaukee Recreation Department is part of the School District. The department offers a wide variety of recreational and leisure-time programs for all ages and interests.

Area youth participate in baseball, football, soccer, volleyball and other organized team sports. Individual activities include figure skating and speed skating, dance instruction (ballet, tap, square dancing and Hawaiian dancing), and gymnastics. Supervised after-school programs for children include crafts, story telling, games, sports, and field trips and a Day Camp program for summer vacation.

The Park District maintains 11 parks situated throughout the city. The largest of these, Greenfield Park, has a public golf course and newly renovated aquatic center. McCarty Park offers public swimming and related recreational activities. Through the combined use of the parks and school athletic facilities, the Recreation Department offers a comprehensive and varied selection of programs for residents of all ages: softball and basketball leagues, volleyball, aerobics, golf, tennis, swimming, dance classes and much more!

For older adults, The Recreation Department Golden Agers club sponsors activities that are fun and healthful. A Handicapped Adult program, with the assistance of volunteers, offers activities suited to the abilities of its members. A summer recreation program offered at the Irving School directs activities specifically aimed at disabled youngsters.

The West Allis Speed Skating Club, formed in 1930, has produced Olympic contenders and has won state and national honors. The club trains on the Pettit Olympic Ice Rink at the State Fair grounds. [Top of Page]

The School District of West Allis, West Milwaukee, et al., includes the City of West Allis, as well as West Milwaukee and portions of Greenfield and New Berlin. The district is the twelfth largest in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 students. Thirteen private elementary and secondary schools also operate in the area.

The West Allis-West Milwaukee School District's elementary schools (K-6) offer instruction in language arts, reading, handwriting, spelling, mathematics, social studies, science and health. Physical Education, vocal and instrumental music studies, and speech therapy programs are delivered through special teachers at each school. The schools seek to expand the horizons of their students through field trips, guest speakers, and special programs.

The District's two middle schools (grades 7-8) provide strong preparation for high school in the language arts, math and sciences. Team-teaching is emphasized through the formation of unique "houses" in which teams plan and prepare the instruction. Students expand their experience into exploratory studies that include the arts, business, foreign languages and music. It is here that students begin to sense the excitement, and challenge of a wider world of learning to prepare for high school.

Two high schools serving West Allis residents offer a widely varied range of college preparation, technical and vocational courses with a strong emphasis toward cooperative experienced based courses sponsored by local business and industry. Such cooperative programs reiterate the idea that industry benefits from educated, well-rounded graduates and provide students a wide variety of educational tools and valuable knowledge in the use of computers and technology at all levels.

High school students may chose from over 100 courses including fifth year classes in three foreign languages. Students explore their own extracurricular interests too, through athletics, drama, music, special clubs, and vocation-related groups. The central theme of all schools' curricula is mastery of basic skills and achieving excellence at all levels. Honors and gifted programs challenge the academically talented while support is offered for students with special needs.

The schools are committed to the integration of technology into the instructional process, to ensure that students are equipped with the skills for continuous education. Parents have the opportunity to be continually involved with the content and quality of education through groups such as the PTA and booster clubs. [Top of Page]

The City of West Allis has maintained a full service Health Department since 1906. It currently employs a staff of 26 along with a dedicated team of over 100 volunteers. The department is divided into five major divisions:

Division of Environmental Health- inspects and licenses restaurants, taverns, grocery stores, milk distributors, hotels, motels, public swimming pools and other public establishments. It also is responsible for environmental nuisances, garbage and other solid waste problems.

Division of Community Health- carries out the community's immunization, disease control, child and older adult health assessments. It conducts the school nurse and health consulting assistance programs.

Interdisciplinary Health Services- responsible for health education in the schools and interested community groups. The staff provides posters and other public relations activities and conducts an "Over Sixty Clinic."

Administrative Services Department- provides all the backup support required for the smooth running of the department. They maintain birth and death certificates, immunization records and other vital community health statistics.

Established 35 years ago, West Allis Memorial Hospital has retained a strong identity as a community hospital. Many residents of Milwaukee's west and southwest suburbs take great pride in the hospital, perhaps because their own roots are here - more than 54,000 people have taken their first breaths of life at West Allis Memorial.

Today, West Allis Memorial is the primary health care source for more than 200,000 patients annually. Acute care and outpatient services are provided by a medical staff of more than 500 physicians in 42 specialties and sub-specialties. The hospital employs more than 1,200 area residents.

Since the first patient was admitted in 1961, West Allis Memorial has admitted over 324,000 inpatient adults and has treated in excess of 611,000 patients in its emergency department.

In addition to a full scope of hospital-based services, West Allis Memorial consistently steps out of the hospital and into the community. Working in conjunction with the West Allis/West Milwaukee School District, the hospital offers education and support to parents of school-aged children. West Allis Memorial is involved in health education programs with a wide variety of community partners including the Future World Class Athletes Fund, West Allis National Night Out, the Wisconsin Women's Cancer Control Program for breast and cervical cancer, the West Allis Health Department and many more!

West Allis Memorial Hospital will continue to find ways to link its local focus and responsibility as a community facility with its state of-the-art services as a progressive medical center.[Top of Page]

West Allis has a full-time mayor and a City Council form of government. The mayor, city attorney, municipal judge and part-time Common Council members are elected by popular vote in the spring. All serve four-year terms. The mayor presides over Common Council meetings but does not vote, except in a case of a tie. The mayor does have veto power over all acts of the Council.

The Council is made up of ten part-time Council members two from each of the city's five districts. Their activities include levying taxes, making special assessments, borrowing and making appropriations, appointing members of commissions and committees. The Council's jurisdiction extends to all areas of fire and police protection, sanitation, health and safety, redevelopment, public recreation, construction and maintenance of streets and public facilities.

The West Allis Common Council meets every first and third Tuesday evening. Citizens may attend Council meetings and address the Council during the first half-hour of each meeting. All scheduled meetings and their agendas are posted in the City Hall lobby; minutes of all Common Council meetings and School District meetings are published in the West Allis Star weekly newspaper.

Administrative authority is delegated to department heads who act under the guidance of various committees of the Council. These committees, composed of five members, meet at least once between each Council meeting. Standing committees of the West Allis Common Council include Administration & Finance; Advisory; License & Health; Safety & Development; and Public Works.

Department heads appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Council are: City Administrative Officer, Director of Public Works, Director of Building Inspection and Zoning, Director of Development, Director of Engineering, City Clerk/Treasurer, City Assessor and Health Commissioner/Sealer.

The Police and Fire Commission appoints the Police Chief and Fire Chief. The Library Board appoints the Library Director. All appointments are made on the basis of tests, qualifications, education and experience.

The mayor may appoint various commissions and boards to study and make recommendations to the council on specific areas of interest. [Top of Page]