Alderman suggests raising taxes in order to pay for 'surge hiring' of 150 new MPD officers
MILWAUKEE -- A Milwaukee alderman has drafted legislation -- proposing that taxes be raised to pay for new Milwaukee police officers.
The proposal comes amid a temporary change within the Milwaukee Police Department. Currently, officers are being dispatched in two-person squads after a Milwaukee police officer was shot and wounded Sunday, July 17th while on the scene of a domestic violence related call near 17th and Morgan.
That shooting happened on the same day three officers lost their lives in a shooting incident in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and 10 days after five officers were killed in a sniper attack in Dallas.
Some, including those with the Milwaukee Police Association, would like MPD's temporary two-person squads to be something that's instituted permanently within MPD -- but they admit that would be costly.
Alderman Terry Witkowski, a member of the Milwaukee Common Council's Public Safety Committee has drafted legislation seeking a referendum in November on whether the city's tax levy could be increased to provide funding for 150 new Milwaukee police officers over five years.
According to a statement from the city of Milwaukee, Alderman Tony Zielinski is co-sponsoring this legislation. The proposal will be heard Monday, July 25th during a special meeting of the Milwaukee Common Council's Judiciary and Legislation Committee at City Hall.
“I am raising the question as to whether we have support for a surge hiring of officers, such as was done several years ago in New York City when thousands of new officers were brought on board. The path to get the item on the November ballot is complicated, and it can only be done as part of the city’s (2017) budget process. The timing is critical that it be considered now," Witkowski said in the statement.
According to Witkowski, under the proposal, the surge force of 150 officers would be funded for five years and then – through retirements and normal attrition – officer staffing levels would return to normal.
“It is not intended to be a permanent staffing increase, and I’m calling it a ‘surge’ for that reason,” Witkowski said in the statement.
According to the statement, the estimated cost of adding 150 new police officers would be $81.7 million over five years, and that total cost is the amount that would be included on the November general election ballot if the measure is approved. Alderman Witkowski said the cost would be $17 million less except that “one state law allows voters to increase spending, while another one penalizes them for doing it.”
For city property owners, the total cost on their tax bill for the surge is estimated to be approximately 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed value each year from 2017 to 2021, or $70.50 on a home assessed at $150,000, Alderman Witkowski said.
According to Witkowski, since 2004, the city of Milwaukee has been under a state-imposed tax levy freeze, and the only way to increase the budget under state law is through a referendum.
To reach the funding amount needed to hire 150 police officers through the city budget process for just one year, the equivalent of three branches of the Milwaukee Public Library would need to be closed. It would require the equivalent of closing the Municipal Court and the Department of City Development, as well as the elimination of half of the operations of the Milwaukee Health Department, Witkowski said.
“Very simply, obtaining funding for additional new police officers is not possible under current state law without the public saying ‘yes,'" Witkowski said. “Under state law, the language on the ballot question will not be specific, essentially stating ‘We want to increase taxes,’ but then not adequately explaining to the public why. We will need a significant public information campaign to make sure voters know exactly what the measure is for and what their vote will mean.”
The cost per newly hired officer, under the proposal, includes salary and benefits, as well as spending to recruit, train, equip and supervise each officer.