Milwaukee would lose 120 police officer positions through attrition under Mayor Tom Barrett's proposed $1.55 billion 2021 budget, which he is set to present to the Common Council on Tuesday morning.
The Fire Department will lose one engine, which could likely result in a firehouse being closed, and vacant positions will go unfilled in other city departments, Barrett said. There will be an additional fee for street lighting and a $10 increase in the wheel tax.
"I have presented many budgets to the council and we have worked on them together, but this is by far the most sobering one because it's really the year when our budget challenges have reached a pretty dramatic crescendo," Barrett told the Journal Sentinel.
The city knew it was going to be facing a difficult budget even before the coronavirus pandemic and economic fallout and the marches for racial justice, he said.
And its fiscal situation is going to make it difficult to please anyone when it comes to the ongoing debate over policing, whether those who want to see a sharp cut in funding for the Police Department or those who want to see an increase, Barrett said.
Even as the department would lose 120 positions, its total budget will drop by less than $1 million from where it is this year, Barrett said.
The proposal comes on the heels of a loss of 60 positions in the 2020 budget, which took the number of sworn positions in the Police Department from 1,864 to 1,804.
The 2020 adopted budget allocated $297.4 million to the Police Department while the proposed 2021 budget would allocate $296.9 million — a drop of $433,822.
"This change is mandated by our current budget reality," Barrett said. "And as the cost of public safety climbs more and more, we simply don't have the money to cover these increased expenses."
Savings that would come from the cut in salaries are reversed by increased health care and other personnel costs, Barrett said.
The department's budget also reflects the moving of dispatch operations from the Police Department to the Fire and Police Commission in the fourth quarter of 2021, he said.
Meanwhile, the cut of a fire engine raises the specter of past Fire Department losses, including the closure of fire stations.
Barrett drew a line from the cuts directly to the stagnant shared revenue coming back to the city from the state and the inability to raise the county sales tax, saying this dearth of funding is impacting services.
"A lot of the changes that you're going to see in this year's budget are really driven by that, and the fact of the matter is that we really have very few options," Barrett said. "So we're cutting the number of employees, we're cutting services."
Raising the county sales tax to 1.5% from 0.5% could make it possible to avoid some of those cuts, he said. Municipalities in Milwaukee County would receive a share of the new sales tax revenue.
City leaders are also facing calls to divert $75 million from the Police Department budget and invest $50 million in public health efforts and $25 million in housing cooperatives. And the Common Council has been exploring a 10% cut in the police budget.
"We're trying to balance a very, very legitimate desire to have a Police Department that is more in tune with the community and at the same time have the resources in the Police Department to address the very, very real concerns that people have, whether it pertains to reckless driving, whether it pertains to burglaries, whether it pertains to car break-ins," Barrett said. "I can't ignore that."
Tax levy to increase 2.8%, fees increasing
The city's tax levy would increase 2.8% to $299.2 million, while residents will also see new and increased fees, under Barrett's budget.
On an average $126,000 home, taxes and fees together would increase about $90 in 2021.
An average residential property is expected to see a property tax increase of about $25. In addition to that, fees are expected to be up about $64.50, including a new fee for street lighting.
The street lighting fee is expected to bring in $10 million for the Department of Public Works. The fee will apply to property owners, including property owners that do not pay taxes but still benefit from the city, Barrett said.
The city, he said, is concerned about the repair schedule for street lights and the engineers it needs.
There will also be a $10 increase in the wheel tax, bringing the total to $30.
$8 million to pension reserve fund
Barrett is also looking to allocate $8 million to the pension reserve fund — money that is meant to help smooth a significant anticipated jump in the city's annual pension contribution starting in 2023.
Last year, Barrett called for putting $10 million aside in 2020, $22.5 million in 2021 and $33.5 million in 2022 in preparation.
He ultimately proposed $8 million in the 2020 budget and the Common Council did not amend that sum.
"We are going to need the support of the police union, the fire union because they are the prime beneficiaries of this and if they want us to continue to fund the pension, they're going to have to work with their friends in the Legislature — and they're much closer to the Republicans than we are — to emphasize just how serious these issues are," Barrett said.
The city's fire and police sworn personnel make up the vast majority of the total pension costs.
Barrett is also proposing:
- Using about $6.5 million from a closing tax incremental financing district to strengthen housing and make homeownership more accessible in the city, a measure Barrett called "the bright light in all of this."
- Allocating $4 million to provide eligible owners financial assistance to replace lead service lines, allowing for the replacement of 1,100 lines.
- Keeping library hours and branches intact.
- Allocating $8 million for high-intensity road repaving and $600,000 to alley repairs.
- Creating a new Office of Equity and Inclusion to focus on equal rights and accountability in city government. The office will include the city's Office of African American Affairs, the Fatherhood Initiative and the Equal Rights Commission.
Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.
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Milwaukee to lose 120 police officer positions under Mayor Tom Barrett's 'sobering' 2021 proposed budget - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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