City faces police and firefighter cuts, property tax increase in upcoming budget

The City of Milwaukee would lose 33 police officer positions and 75 firefighter jobs under the 2018 budget plan, which Mayor Tom Barrett is set to introduce this week.

Barrett's proposed budget, which he will present to the Common Council on Tuesday, also includes a 3.7% property tax levy increase.

"This is not the budget that I want to be introducing," Barrett said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

But it could be worse. Barrett initially warned the city may be forced to cut 84 police officer positions in next year's budget.

"That was unacceptable to us, so we did everything we could to get that number down," Barrett said.

The 75 proposed firefighter position cuts have not changed. Those cuts include five fire rigs being decommissioned, with 15 firefighters per apparatus, Barrett said.

"I would like to lessen that cut," the mayor said. "But I can't because of the restrictions that are placed on us."

RELATED:MPS projects $19.4 million in cuts — and that could be just the beginning

Barrett launched an effort last month to push for a half-cent local sales tax, saying it could raise $35 million per year for the city's police and fire departments. The Democratic mayor has been calling on Republican Gov. Scott Walker and state lawmakers to give the city the authority to pursue the tax, which would allow the proposal to go before voters as a referendum next year on the April ballot. 

But it's unlikely Milwaukee will get that authority from the GOP-controlled Legislature.

Barrett said he decided to make the cuts to public safety because other areas of city government have already experienced steep spending reductions.

"Over the last decade, we have cut hundreds and hundreds of positions in the other departments," Barrett said. "We have made those cuts, and we have made those cuts to increase the spending in the police department."

The mayor said he had hoped to increase the sworn strength of the Milwaukee Police Department to 1,900 — up from the current 1,888 — but couldn't without a local sales tax.

Barrett added that he had hoped to give some relief to property taxpayers "and have people benefit from all the progress that we have made in the city share in that."

Instead, the city's property tax increase would amount to a $37 hike on a median-value home of $108,374.  

With property taxes and fees combined, that would amount to a approximate $48 increase on the typical home, although Barrett said that increase will be offset by somewhat lower taxes expected for Milwaukee Public Schools.

When it comes to efforts to reduce exposure to lead, Barrett said the city has budgeted $75,000 for lead filters in the upcoming year and hopes to again match that amount with private donations, Barrett said.

The 2018 budget also includes money to fund 800 lead water service line replacements in 2018, Barrett said, adding that Milwaukee will have completed 650 lead lateral replacements by the end of 2017. Those will include leaking pipes, and laterals that are connected to water mains, said Dennis Yaccarino, Barrett's nominee for budget director.

"The work that we started this year, we're actually increasing that for next year," Barrett said.

The city faces a daunting job when it comes to lead, as there are about 70,000 residential properties throughout the City of Milwaukee with lead pipes.

Milwaukee is also facing ballooning costs when it comes to pension payments. During the next five-year plan, the city's spending is expected to jump to $83 million — a $22 million jump compared to the $61 million the city spent during the last five-year plan.

Barrett said 93% of that increase is attributable to police and fire pension costs.

Almost all other public workers in Wisconsin had their bargaining authority stripped under Walker's 2011 measure, known as Act 10, and then had their members' take-home pay reduced by roughly 10% because of cuts to health care and pension benefits.

"The police and fire, because of the preferential treatment they received, that's driving this train," Barrett said.

One glimmer of hope in the budget is that the city has reduced its spending on employee health care. Milwaukee expects to save $6.7 million on employee health care next year compared to this year's budget, Yaccarino said.

"That helped us immensely, and allowed us to save a good number of those police department jobs," Barrett said.

The city is also moving to limit annual borrowing to $76 million, down from $89 million, the mayor said.

"We just feel we have to stabilize that," Barrett said.