MILWAUKEE — A vision of a better Milwaukee and the plans that could help the city get there were detailed throughout Mayor Cavalier Johnson's State of the City address on Monday.
"Let's create the best version of ourselves, the best version of our neighborhoods, and the best version of the city we love," said Mayor Johnson. "Yes, it's ambitious. Let's be ambitious. Because Milwaukee's destiny is in our hands."
But a crucial upcoming vote regarding potentially raising the city's sales tax will be the deciding factor on whether Milwaukee will have the resources to put those plans into action or not.
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"Without this new revenue, we will have no options other than laying off hundreds of police and firefighters devastating our ability to respond promptly to emergencies. Libraries all across the city will be shuttered. We will spiral into a deeper and deeper fiscal crisis," said Johnson.
Community leaders like Dr. Eve Hall with the Greater Milwaukee Urban League couldn't agree more.
"We just have to do it for the future of the city. We just have to do it," said Hall.
WATCH: State Representative Kalan Haywood was @TheTable Monday night to talk about Mayor Cavalier Johnson's State of the City speech and the need for the 2% sales tax increase for the city.
In his address, Mayor Johnson highlighted the city's plans to install protected bike lanes, continue the expansion of construction projects to attract more people and companies to the area, and provide more opportunities for kids to connect with positive youth programs. Programs like the ones Kynyel Pittman remembers as a child.
"When I was growing up I was part of the Boys and Girls Club, summer clubs, earn and learn. It helps kids see that they can be something different and not what the city says they can be," said Pittman.
The city's new goal of replacing all remaining lead pipes in Milwaukee within the next 20 years instead of the estimated 60+ years was also announced as part of Mayor Johnson's initiative to address the racial disparities affecting the community and city residents like Nikki Purvis.
"There's still so much work to do and I believe that as a collective we can achieve that sooner than 20 years," said Purvis.
But until the Common Council casts its final vote on whether or not to raise the sales tax on July 11, the future of the state of the city remains up in the air.
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