MILWAUKEE – 2024 is being called “a pivot year” by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
A 1.92 billion dollar budget proposed by the mayor to the city’s Common Council Tuesday was highlighted by a change in tone when it comes to budget cuts. Local officials say new revenue derived from the city’s coming two percent sales tax dedicated to paying for new police officers and firefighters, as well as closing out the city’s pension system, is allowing for more spending flexibility than years past.
“I am not closing library branches. I am not imposing furlough days or hiring freezes on our employees. I am not closing firehouses. I am not cutting police sworn strength.” Johnson said to the council. “Because of the bipartisan work we complete in Madison, along with the fortitude and foresight shown by this Common Council, we have a reasonable path forward.”
Highlights from the proposed budget include:
- Staffing increases in the police department and fire department to fully comply with Act 12, as well as an additional paramedic unit and fire engine.
- A new Office of Community Wellness and Safety
- An organized campaign to demolish vacant properties, organized by a newly formed “Public Works, Neighborhood Services, and City Development” team
- A new Innovation Director to serve as ” a thoughtful champion of change”
- Adding more than one million dollars to the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Office of African American Affairs
- An effort to redeploy federal money to upgrade streetlights with brighter L.E.D. fixtures dubbed “Brighter Line”
In a show of gratitude towards city employee’s the mayor has proposed a “modest, across the board pay increase for general city employees.”
The Common Council will now begin debate on the budget proposal; public comment will begin in October, and the council could vote on whether to accept or reject it in early November.
