Milwaukee budget amendments focus on safety, police spending

The Milwaukee Common Council released on Wednesday a list of more than 40 possible budget amendments, including one proposal to move the city's Office of Violence Prevention from the Health Department to the newly-created Office of African-American Affairs.

The amendments also hint at an increasing willingness among council members to try to re-allocate money from the Police Department to other neighborhood development efforts — a move some residents have called for recently in response to a draft public safety plan, which included proposals to boost police staffing and create youth boot camps.

Ald. Khalif Rainey, who spearheaded the creation of the Office of African-American Affairs, has proposed two amendments to move the Office of Violence Prevention under its umbrella.

But Mayor Tom Barrett quickly raised concerns about the move, saying it could cost the city crucial funding opportunities.

"By having it under the arm of the health department, that opens up for us funding from the federal government, and from philanthropies that view this as a health issue," Barrett said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. "I am very, very concerned that if you take away that health nexus, that could hamper our ability to garner resources for the office."

The mayor added, "I want to reduce violence in every segment of our community."

Rainey was not immediately available for comment about his proposal Wednesday afternoon, but budget documents say the "amendment consolidates existing city positions and activities related to the special needs of the city’s African-American residents into a single office."

One community leader said the proposal gave him pause.

"I'd have to speak with Alderman Rainey to understand his reasoning, because I don't think violence is just an African-American issue," said Fred Royal, president of the NAACP Milwaukee branch.

City statistics show African-Americans are disproportionately victims of violent crime and often comprise 80% or more of the city's homicide and nonfatal shooting victims each year.

For years, local leaders have sought to frame violence as a public health issue, focusing on root causes of violence to prevent it and stop it from spreading. Having the Office of Violence Prevention in the Health Department kept it under the mayor's control. Under Rainey's proposal, the office would more directly fall under the control of the Common Council, because the Office of African-American Affairs is under the council-appointed city clerk.

One of Rainey's two amendments funds the Office of African-American Affairs with $600,000, including $100,000 for an executive director, $60,000 for a chief of staff and $440,000 in operating funds, as well as moving the equal rights specialist from the Department of Administration.

For some, the debate over where to house the Office of Violence Prevention misses a larger point.

"It doesn't matter where it is, it matters what gets done," said King Rick of the Black Panthers in Milwaukee.

The office should focus on empowering grassroots organizations and residents, according to Rick, who protested the draft council safety plan, and Shawn Moore, who helped create Safe Zones in the city. The zones have previously received city grants to train residents to be violence interrupters. Moore was skeptical of any changes without increased funding.

"What's it going to do for the community, really?" Moore said.

Other proposed budget amendments include:

• Spending $1 million on a community disparity study to determine the extent to which minority and women-owned businesses participate in obtaining contracts with the city in construction, professional services, and goods and services. (Proposed by Ald. Russell Stamper, II)

• Providing $43,000 to create a diversity recruiter position in the city Department of Employee Relations — Office of Diversity and Outreach. (Proposed by Stamper)

• Reducing the size of the next police class by five recruits, and instead using the money to add three investigator positions and one grant coordinator to the Fire and Police Commission. (Proposed by Ald. Nik Kovac)

• Spending $150,000 for the health department to distribute water filters to homes with lead service lines and children 6 and younger. That amendment would also provide $14,000 to the health department for a gun-safety program for children ages 3-10 and their parents. (Proposed by Ald. Milele Coggs)

• Adding $50,000 to the health department for the sexually-transmitted infection clinic. (Proposed by Ald. Chantia Lewis)

• Eliminating one of the branches of the Municipal Court. (Proposed by Ald. Terry Witkowski)

• Using $100,000 to create an account that would be used to fund a citizens' advocate for indigent defendants. (Proposed by Kovac)

• Reducing the last planned police class by 15 recruits — almost 10% — and instead funding 21 community service officers. (Proposed by Ald. Jim Bohl)

• Eliminating the police department's Mounted Patrol Unit and using the money for a new "neighborhood stabilization" effort. (Proposed by Lewis)

• Providing $472,000 for a new "Keeping the Promise" account that would target seven neighborhoods by permanently assigning beat officers to patrol on foot from May through October 2017. The proposal would also employ Running Rebels, a youth-serving agency, for various neighborhood improvement jobs. (Proposed by President Ashanti Hamilton and Alds. Coggs, Bob Donovan, Stamper, Rainey, José Pérez, Mark Borkowski and Lewis.)

The mayor said he didn't see proposals to cut the number of new police recruits "going anywhere," saying the city is seeking more diversity in the police department and is facing a large number of vacancies.

He also took a shot at Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.

"This is not the county, and the police chief does not ride any of these horses in parades," Barrett said. "These are used for actual public safety purposes, and are actually deployed in public situations where they can be beneficial."

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified which city office King Rick and Shawn Moore were referencing. The two were speaking about the Office of Violence Prevention.