MILWAUKEE — We are hearing for the first time from commissioners of Milwaukee’s Fire and Police Commission (FPC) about the board's shifting power.
The civilian oversight panel lost its policy-making ability as part of the recent state shared revenue bill.
Milwaukee's FPC is regarded as one of the oldest civilian oversight bodies in the country— but if you ask city residents, like Paul Runnoe, how much they know about it:
“I can't say I know much,” laughed Runnoe. “It’s something I'd probably have to research a little bit more to understand what they do and what they don’t do, or what their responsibilities might be.”
He wasn’t the only one. TMJ4 asked nearly a dozen community members what they knew about the Civilian Oversight Panel, most not knowing what they are, and others with only minimal knowledge of their role.
On Monday night the community was invited to a public "Meet and Greet" with three appointees tapped in by Mayor Johnson to join the commission.
Those appointees include long time MPS principal, Ramon Evans, former Milwaukee Fire Deputy Chief, Christopher Snyder, and former diversity officer with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and MPS Board Member, Jeff Spence.
But the room was largely lacking those public voices they were in search of.
The meeting space consisted of several current members of the commission and Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, with a handful of residents tuning in over zoom.
The lack of public engagement extends to the FPC's regular meetings now, too, according to the commission's chair, Miriam Horowitz.
“We have noticed an absence of citizens coming to the meeting and offering public comment since Act 12,” Horowitz said.
Act 12 refers to the measure in the state's new shared revenue bill that takes away policy making power from the FPC and hands it to the fire and police chiefs.
“The change is a disappointment that we have less authority over making policy directly... and I think the activists and the community members who typically come [to the meetings] now think ‘Well, the commission can't do anything about this, anyways.’ But that’s really not true,” Horowitz explained.
She says that the FPC still holds hiring and firing power over the chiefs themselves.
“The chiefs do have the authority now to set policy over their departments but we're the folks who they answer to.”
When asked what city residents should know about the FPC, Horowitz emphasized this:
“We still want to hear from community members, and I'd like the community to understand that we still have a big role to play. We are still there as a citizen oversight body.”
A role that will be looking different thanks to Act 12, but one that members tell TMJ4 is still focused on advocating for the people of the city.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
