Doing more with less may help with a budget crisis, but it's not seen as a sustainable solution if you're running a fire department and responding to a growing number of emergencies.
"Dire Straits really doesn't begin to describe it," said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski. He was a guest on @TheTable Thursday night.
Governor Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers are in the process of trying to work out a shared revenue deal that would send more money back to local governments to pay for public safety services like fire and police.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson has been talking with key lawmakers for months about the budget crisis facing the city.
Chief Lipski, a fourth-generation Milwaukee firefighter says millions of additional dollars are needed to replace what has already been cut or closed.
"If we're talking about a fire engine, and if I could get one more fire engine, I could open one of the many closed fire stations that sit throughout the City of Milwaukee right now.“ Lipski said. "A million dollars funds just under half of one fire engine.”
The other financial crisis facing the city has to do with its promised pension costs for firefighters and police. The pension is severely underfunded.
Mayor Johnson is trying to convince lawmakers a local sales tax increase is needed to help fund the city's long-term pension obligations and avoid more drastic budget cuts or the potential for bankruptcy.
- Mayor Johnson urges lawmakers to let Common Council decide on sales tax increase rather than Milwaukee voters
- Gov. Tony Evers rejects Republican's shared revenue proposal for Wisconsin
Gov. Evers on Thursday said he would veto a GOP shared revenue proposal that offered the city the option to raise the sales tax by two cents on a dollar.
Evers said the Republican plan had too many restrictions, but he's not opposed to increasing shared revenue or a sales tax increase for Milwaukee.
Lipski is not part of the negotiations but like everyone else in the city, he is watching and waiting to see how all of this plays out in Madison.
"I have no idea if it's the best option on the table. But I will tell you it is the closest we have gotten as a city and as a county to getting real, real restorative funding to get out of this hole," said Lipski
Watch the full conversation in the video at the top of this article.
Charles Benson and Shannon Sims interview key people in our community during TMJ4's @TheTable segment weeknights at 10 p.m.
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