Police Association looking to halt proposal calling for police furlough days

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee's Police Association (the union representing Milwaukee Police Department's officers) is looking to stop a proposal calling for officers to take more furlough days -- citing public safety concerns.

Last week, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett explained in his 2013 budget proposal for the city calls for three furlough days for MPD officers -- the same amount as this year.

"We're confident that's not going to have a negative impact on any levels of police protection. In fact, we're raising the overtime amounts and supplanting the federal dollars we received. We're putting a tax levy increase in to make sure those police officers will stay on the force," Mayor Barrett said.

Monday, October 1st, the Police Association's president issued a statement saying this proposal will tax officers on an already stressed force.

The statement said: "The mayor demands more and is willing to jeopardize your security. Our neighborhoods will experience less quality service while our officers will be exposed to more dangerous working conditions."

Mayor Barrett's budget is now in the hands of the Milwaukee Common Council.