MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Fire and Police Commissioners Amanda Avalos and Ed Fallone announced Thursday they are resigning from the FPC in protest of a condition of the city of Milwaukee's approval of the 2023 shared revenue plan.
That plan, referred to in the commissioners' statement as Act 12, gives more authority to the Chiefs of Milwaukee Police and Milwaukee Fire Departments and takes it away from the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. The FPC is known as one of the strongest and oldest civilian oversight boards in the country.
Avalos' and Fallone's resignations go into effect 12:01 a.m. on Friday July 21, 2023, according to a statement on Thursday. There is an FPC meeting Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.
Proponents of Milwaukee approving the shared revenue plan have referred to the conditions limiting the FPC's power as negatives as part of a larger positive. They argue the ability to raise the sales tax by 2 percent will help the city's finances long-term. Opponents of the city approving the plan in turn argue the city is giving up too much to the Republican-controlled legislature, which largely wrote the shared revenue plan. That includes limiting the FPC's influence in matters regarding the city's large police and fire department forces.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson spoke at a press conference at the police administration building on Thursday.
It's been about two years since Fallone became chair of the FPC and two and a half years for Avalos.
Fallone became Chair of the FPC in July of 2021 and Avalos joined in January of 2021. Both are upset that a decision having such a strong impact in the city of Milwaukee is being made by lawmakers who will never have to answer to the voters of this city.
It's something Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson voiced concern over months ago.
He told TMJ4 News his reaction to hearing this news this morning.
"When those commissioners came on board, they came on board knowing that there were these specific powers and that changed. It's not what they signed up for essentially. I don't think I'm necessarily surprised to see a resignation or two that came out of this," Mayor Johnson said Thursday.
Under Act 12, the powers to change policy will now go to Fire Chief Aaron Lipski and Police Chief Jeffrey Norman. When asked about how he's preparing for the change, Norman told the I-Team, "Working with [the FPC]. That's how."
Both Fallone and Avalos should be at tonight's fire and police commission meeting, for the last time. Retired Milwaukee Police Officer and former FPC Commissioner Ray Robakowski says this move is a good thing.
"I think [Fallone and Avalos] were under the impression tha tthey had total power over the fire department and police department," Robakowski said. "For them to be setting policies that they have no clue about, it's not a good thing."
The FPC, considered one of the oldest civilian oversight boards in the country, will still have adequate civilian oversight, Robakowski says.
"There are still issues that have to be handled by the FPC," Robakowski said. "There are disciplinary issues that come up and other issues that have to be addressed. There is still the concern of the public but we can not rule either department by what the public totally wants."
According to the commissioners' statement: "We are proud of the work that we have accomplished as Chair and Vice Chair of the FPC over our tenures. This is not an easy decision for us to make. Our reasons for taking this action are as follows: 1. We feel that, by continuing to serve on the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, our continued service might be construed as an indication that we 2. accept the substantial restrictions on FPC authority contained in the recently enacted Act 12."
"We do not accept these changes to the authority of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. Our resignations are intended to clearly communicate to the elected officials of our State and to the members of the general public that we strongly oppose the elimination of the FPC’s policymaking authority as part of Act 12," according to the statement.
"The restrictions on FPC authority contained in Act 12 were originally proposed to Wisconsin lawmakers by a special interest group – a special interest group that regularly places itself in opposition to the FPC through its public statements and through litigation. No elected official consulted any member of the FPC before these proposals were written and included in the draft bill. If the members of the Commission had been consulted, we would have explained why these proposals were shortsighted and misguided, and why they were not in the best interests of the residents of Milwaukee," according to the statement.
Mayor Johnson says he doesn't have any ideas on who he will nominate next to bring the board back to full capacity. He will need to find three new members after former commissioner Gerard Washington resigned earlier this month to take a different job out of state. He plans to have conversations with his team before nominating members.
He does expect the commission to continue to function as normal until the new members are selected. By law, the FPC needs a quorum of five to meet. Presently, the FPC has six members. Johnson believes the FPC will vote on a new chair and vice chair at Thursday night's FPC meeting.
As TMJ4 News reported, Milwaukee Common Council members are exploring litigation related to the law that led to the sales tax increase. The potential legal action has to do with Milwaukee-specific restrictions in Act 12, the shared revenue law that Governor Evers signed last month.
Downtown Alderman Bob Bauman voted in favor of the sales tax increase, but like others in city government, was highly critical of the other provisions in the law.
"There were some policy mandates that the state legislature imposed on the city which were frankly outrageous," Bauman said during the Common Council meeting Tuesday morning. "These policy mandates had an air of racism to them. Milwaukee being the most diverse city in the state of Wisconsin."
The policies that have received the most criticism from council members prevent Milwaukee from using tax money to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts or to expand the Hop. Other provisions make changes to the Fire and Police Commission and require Milwaukee Public Schools to reinstate school resource officers.
"We're going to review the legality to some of these provisions, and if there are questions to their legality, we are going to pursue litigation," Bauman said. "A lot of these policy provisions are very well set up for challenges under Home Rule."
Home Rule was an amendment added to the Wisconsin State Constitution in 1924.
"The state delegated authority to certain municipalities to run their own business, to not micro-manage. And that's where the issue is coming up," Municipal Attorney Michael Maistelman explained.
Milwaukee was one of the municipalities that were granted Home Rule.
Maistelman said he believes under the Home Rule argument, the city probably has a pretty solid case.
"I think there's some really valid arguments on behalf of the municipality that the state is interfering with the powers that the state has actually delegated to the city of Milwaukee," Maistelman said.
But he explained that any legal action will likely take time and have to work its way up through the courts. He believes if legal action is taken it will likely end up at the State Supreme Court. But, it all starts with the Common Council asking the city attorney to take action.
Read their full statement below:
The following is a joint statement by Milwaukee Fire and Police Commissioners
Amanda Avalos and Ed Fallone.
We hereby announce that we will resign our positions on the Board of Fire and
Police Commissioners (FPC) for the City of Milwaukee effective at 12:01 a.m. on
Friday July 21, 2023.
We are proud of the work that we have accomplished as Chair and Vice Chair of
the FPC over our tenures. This is not an easy decision for us to make. Our reasons
for taking this action are as follows:
1. We feel that, by continuing to serve on the Milwaukee Fire and Police
Commission, our continued service might be construed as an indication that we
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accept the substantial restrictions on FPC authority contained in the recently
enacted Act 12.
We do not accept these changes to the authority of the Milwaukee Fire and Police
Commission. Our resignations are intended to clearly communicate to the elected
officials of our State and to the members of the general public that we strongly
oppose the elimination of the FPC’s policymaking authority as part of Act 12.
The restrictions on FPC authority contained in Act 12 were originally proposed to
Wisconsin lawmakers by a special interest group – a special interest group that
regularly places itself in opposition to the FPC through its public statements and
through litigation. No elected official consulted any member of the FPC before
these proposals were written and included in the draft bill. If the members of the
Commission had been consulted, we would have explained why these proposals
were shortsighted and misguided, and why they were not in the best interests of
the residents of Milwaukee.
Once the members of the Commission became aware of the provisions of Act 12,
we unanimously and consistently opposed the draft legislation. We
communicated our strong and united opposition on multiple occasions to the
Mayor, the Common Council, the Governor and to the leaders of the State
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legislature. None of this mattered. An institution that for over 135 years has
provided the citizens of Milwaukee with an important measure of control over
their own lives was reduced to a pawn in someone else’s game. We simply cannot
accept this.
2. We are resigning in order to call attention to Act 12’s assault on selfgovernment.
Our country was founded on the principle that every American has the
fundamental right to participate in self-government. The State of Wisconsin
amplifies and clarifies our right of self-government in the Home Rule provisions of
the Wisconsin Constitution, which provide that decisions having a primarily local
impact should be decided by local residents. Because Act 12 imposes policy
changes and obligations on the City of Milwaukee, in ways that do not apply to
any other municipal government in the state, the passage of Act 12 by the state
legislature is an attack on this fundamental right of self-government.
The provisions of Act 12 that restrict the authority of the FPC are opposed by the
Milwaukee Common Council and they are opposed by the vast majority of the
residents of our city. However, Act 12 was pushed through the state legislature by
legislators who do not have to answer to the voters of Milwaukee. Safe in their
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gerrymandered districts, and representing a minority of the population of our
state, these legislators were able to impose their choices on the majority of the
voters in Wisconsin without fear of facing any consequences.
It is no answer to these criticisms to say that the Governor signed Act 12, and that
some elected officials in Milwaukee voiced support for the overall legislation. By
tying the reduction of the FPC’s authority to an omnibus government funding bill,
the proponents of Act 12 ensured that opposition to the legislation would
threaten the financial future of the City of Milwaukee. As a result, significant
policy changes were enacted into law without meaningful public input or debate.
Anyone who cares about democracy and self-government should be appalled at
such legislative practices. This process of lawmaking is fundamentally wrong and
it should not be normalized.
3. The new law significantly changes the job duties of a Commissioner.
By eliminating the exercise of direct control over the policies of the Police and Fire
Departments, Act 12 creates a new job of Commissioner that is different from the
job that both of us agreed to do. We agreed to accept a position with the City of
Milwaukee that entailed a substantial time commitment and that, at times,
subjected us to public criticism and second-guessing. However, we accepted this
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challenge in large part because the position that was offered to us also included
the opportunity to be agents of change in our community. Now that Act 12 has
significantly altered the duties of Commissioner, we no longer feel obligated to
continue serving in this very different role.
We wish to emphasize that there has never been any credible allegation that the
members of the Commission have abused their policymaking authority. In fact,
the FPC has approached its policymaking function in a responsible, deliberate and
thoughtful manner. It is notable that the residents of the City of Milwaukee have
strongly supported the policy reforms enacted by the Commission. It is
unnecessary and unjust to take away a power that has been used wisely and that
has benefited the people we serve.
In choosing to resign, the two of us understand and appreciate that the remainder
of our colleagues on the Board of the FPC have made a different decision and that
they will continue their service on the Board. We wish them the best. Each
member of the Board of the Fire and Police Commission is feeling a different level
of anger, disappointment and acceptance. We recognize that each Commissioner
must make their own individual decision as to whether to continue their service
going forward. We have made ours.
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We would like to express our appreciation to our fellow Commissioners.
We would also like to thank Executive Director Leon Todd and the entire staff of
the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. Our decision to resign is in no way
connected to their excellent and loyal job performance on behalf of the FPC.
Executive Director Todd and the staff are outstanding public servants and it has
been a pleasure to work with them.
We would also like to express our strong support and appreciation to Milwaukee
Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and to Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski. Our city is
fortunate to have two such capable leaders. For the past two years, the policy of
the FPC has been to act in partnership with our Chiefs, and to allow each Chief to
do their job with a minimum of outside interference. By subjecting the heads of
the Police and Fire Departments to second-guessing by politicians, the new Act 12
makes the job of our Chiefs harder, not easier. However, we have faith that Chiefs
Norman and Lipski will continue to lead the Milwaukee Police and Fire
Departments wisely.
Finally, by resigning our positions, effective tomorrow, we hope to send a
message to voters across the entire State of Wisconsin. Demand that your elected
officials support the right of self-government, not just for you in your own town
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but for all of the residents of our State. Demand that your elected officials
support policing policies that respect the constitutional rights shared by every
resident of Wisconsin. And use your vote to support candidates who will defend
civilian oversight over our police and fire departments.
For the foregoing reasons, we resign our positions on the Milwaukee Board of
Police and Fire Commissioners as of 12:01 a.m. on Friday July 21, 2023.
Signed:
Commissioner Amanda Avalos
Commissioner Ed Fallone
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