Barrett's budget would raise taxes, hold police staffing

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's proposed $1.53 billion spending plan for 2017 would slightly raise the city's tax levy and maintain — but not increase — police staffing levels.

Barrett's proposal features a $25 million boost in spending on police, up to $302 million, which would make it 9% higher than last year's police budget. His plan also includes nearly $11 million for lead abatement initiatives.

The mayor said his budget plan shows his commitment to Milwaukee's neighborhoods, including those that have continued to struggle as downtown experiences a boom in development.

"I'm mindful of the fact that this is a time in our city's history where we are experiencing great momentum in some parts of the city and challenges in other parts of the city," Barrett said Friday in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. "We are focusing on maintaining our necessary services, at the same time trying with our very limited resources to do what we can in the areas of the city that are in stressful situations."

Barrett is set to present his budget proposal to the Common Council Monday morning at City Hall.

In early September, following the city's deadliest month in 25 years, Barrett announced that the 2017 Milwaukee Police Department budget would be "significantly larger," and the city would fund "multiple classes of new officers."

The December class of new recruits would be boosted from 39 to 65, an increase of 26, and two other classes would include 50 to 65 recruits, for a total of some 160 to 180 new recruits.

But because police retirements are expected to spike in the coming year, those new hires will likely only cover attrition. That means the average sworn strength of the police force will remain at 1,888.

Sworn police are eligible to retire at age 57, or after 25 years of service. The possible wave of retirements is linked in part to a surge in officer hiring in the early and mid-1990s and to recent changes in police pension agreements. Some 339 MPD officers will be eligible to retire by the end of 2017.

The mayor acknowledged that some critics will think he should hire more officers, while others will argue he's spending too much on police.

Barrett's 2017 spending plan is slightly smaller — by 1.3% — than the 2016 adopted budget.

Under his proposal, the tax levy would increase by $7 million to $263.8 million, a 2.75% increase.

That means that the tax on a median-valued home of $105,100 would increase by $26.40 compared to 2016. For a home of that value, the 2017 municipal fees would increase by $10.86, meaning the combined cost increase would be $37.26.

Barrett also referenced the continued decline of state shared revenue payments to the city and the wage increases in the most recent contract with the Milwaukee Police Association as reasons the Police Department budget continues to grow but without major increases to staffing.

Of the $25 million increase to the police budget, $23 million of that goes to the wage settlement, Barrett said.

A recent Public Policy Forum report found the continuing decline of state shared revenue payments to the city — down nearly $10 million from 2011 to 2015 — has placed severe and growing pressure on property taxes and charges for services.

"I am proud of the fact that we've never laid off a police officer, that we've maintained a strong presence of police officers, but clearly there has been a breakdown in the partnership in the state to support this," Barrett said.

Barrett said his 2017 plan also includes nearly $11 million in spending on lead abatement efforts. Of that, $4.3 million comes from the federal government to address lead paint issues. Another priority for next year will be replacing lead laterals at some 300 day care centers, Barrett said, as well as addressing 300 break emergencies.

"What that means is for another year the moratorium that I placed on replacing water mains that feed into lead laterals will continue," Barrett said.

His proposal also includes a cost-sharing plan for lead pipe replacements on private properties, in which the city would cover two-thirds of the cost, leaving only one-third to homeowners.

Other features of the budget include plans to demolish some 248 blighted properties and further investments in the city's Strong Neighborhoods program, which aims to prevent tax foreclosures, maintain city-owned properties, revitalize neighborhoods and create jobs for Milwaukee residents.

"We have done a remarkable job in managing the finances of this city with some unbelievably strong headwinds that have almost brought other cities to its knees," Barrett said.