MILWAUKEE — Mayor Cavalier Johnson said negotiations on a state aid package that would boost funding for Milwaukee are not yet finished.
However, the provisions of the Republican-led bill have raised concerns among some in the city.
"I know the bill is out. It's not final," said Johnson. "I've had a number of conversations [with lawmakers] over the course of the past year. And especially over the course of the past several weeks."
Statewide, the bill increases shared revenue by at least 10% for all cities and towns. That would mean an additional $22 million for Milwaukee.
The deal also allows a referendum for a 2% city sales tax, which would create around $120 million for city pensions.
But the sales tax levy, specifically, would trigger a number of provisions that would impact Milwaukee.
For one, it would require the transfer of significant power from the Fire and Police Commission (FPC) to the city's chief of police.
Former FPC commissioner and retired Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Joan Kessler called the bill's aid increase "disingenuous" and said it "virtually invites the problems of corruption" decades of civilian oversight by the committee have fought against.
Among other provisions, the bill would require minimum staffing levels for fire and police and block the new tax dollars from being used to fund the expansion of Milwaukee's The Hop streetcar.
TMJ4's Bruce Harrison asked Mayor Johnson if he'd be willing to compromise more on any particular issue.
"It's all part of negotiations," he said. "The people elected me to do this job with the vision I laid out for the city. The legislature is what it is. And the city's financial situation is what it is and has been for the past several decades. And it's important for us to fix it."
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced the bill this week. And on Monday night, he indicated in an interview with TMJ4 that he stands by the provisions in the current draft.
"With such a huge pension obligation and really a budget that's out of whack, I don't think it makes any sense to keep spending your money on things that aren't a core function," said Vos. "We need to make sure that we pay for police, fire, EMS, libraries."
Joan F. Kessler, a retired Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge, issued the following statement:
As a former member of the Milwaukee Fire & Police Commission, I feel compelled to comment on the disingenuous action from Madison in offering an "increase" in shared revenues, at the cost of abandoning the decades of civilian oversight of the Milwaukee Police Department and placing all oversight power in whoever may be the Milwaukee Police Chief at the time.
The FPC oversight has given Milwaukee many decades with no evidence of corruption in the Milwaukee Police Department.
The recently expressed legislative intent in Madison to return to Milwaukee "additional" funds for municipal services is still an amount far below the amount Milwaukee must send to Madison each year and the amount "returned" has remained inadequate to cover necessary municipal expenses.
Worse yet, this "increase" comes at the cost of eviscerating the decades long power of the Fire and Police Commission to exercise supervision over the Milwaukee Police Department. The lack of citizen supervision virtually invites the problems of corruption which Milwaukee has successfully avoided for decades by having a long history and practice of civilian oversight over those who provide such important public services as law enforcement.
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