MILWAUKEE — Chief Aaron Lipski of the Milwaukee Fire Department described some mixed feelings about the city’s new 2% sales tax shortly after it was passed. He expressed that he felt relieved at the ability to keep his group fully staffed, but cognizant of the situation the city remains in.
Chief Lipski told WTMJ that this is one of the rare times the city has taken an action to help the fire department instead of damaging it.
“I have been living in a Fire Department for the past 15-to-20 years that has done nothing but cut, reduce, shut stations down and lose personnel,” Chief Lipski said. “It may sound as if I should be doing backflips and celebrate, the opposite is true, because the entire city is trying to dig out of a hole right now.”
The 2% sales tax is projected to bring in close to 200 million dollars a year, which will fund first responders and other services from the city of Milwaukee. Lipski says this will expand the reach of the Milwaukee Fire Department.
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“At the core of my heart, for the wellbeing of my firefighters and paramedics, we can be at capacity” Chief Lipski expressed. “We can now get out there and serve more neighborhoods in areas where the stations have been shuttered.”
The ability for the Milwaukee Common Council to levy the tax was given through Act 12, passed by the Wisconsin State Legislature. Chief Lipski says the authors of the bill specifically meant to disadvantage poor communities and would support a lawsuit against them.
As for those who voted against the bill, Chief Lipski says he understands why they made the choices they did.
“Three of our alders made very difficult decisions with their ‘no’ votes. I would like to add that I have a tremendous amount of respect with their finding out how they were going to vote, and I do not want that lost in this,” Chief Lipski expressed.
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