"The only reasonable way to do it:" Aldermen hear proposal to raise taxes to pay for new police officers
MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Common Council's Judiciary and Legislation Committee held a special meeting Monday afternoon, July 25th -- and two alderman presented a proposal for more police officers. It is an ambitious plan to add 150 new Milwaukee police officers, and it comes with a price tag.
The proposal calls for residents to vote on a referendum to add 150 officers. Supporters say this plan offers a way to do that without making cuts elsewhere -- but in order to do it, Milwaukee voters will have to approve a tax increase.
A group of aldermen on Monday listened to the first presentation of a plan to hire 150 new Milwaukee police officers.
Alderman Terry Witkowski
"Put more out there. Do more enforcement, and see if that makes a difference," Alderman Terry Witkowski said.
Witkowski, a sponsor of the proposal, says coming up with the money within the city budget would cause too much harm in other areas.
"We would have to eliminate three library branches, all of the Milwaukee Health Department that`s not grant-funded. We`d have to eliminate our Department of City Development, and municipal courts to come up with an amount near that," Witkowski said.
Witkowski and Alderman Tony Zielinski have proposed a property tax increase that would cover the nearly $82 million for a five-year 'surge hiring' process.
It would cost property owners an extra 47 cents for each $1,000 of assessed value.
Alderman Tony Zielinski
"That`s just the only reasonable way to do it because right now, our budget is so tight the way it is," Zielinski said.
In a statement, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said he's 'gratified Alderman Witkowski is taking on the responsibility of identifying a source of funds the responsibly increases the size of the Milwaukee Police Department."
Budget and Management Director Mark Nicolini said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett worries the city would lose some of its state funding for the first two years because of the increased taxes.
"The way the initiative is laid out, for two years, we lose about $8.7 million each year in state aid because we would not meet the expenditure limit. So in other words, we`d be substituting -- each of those years -- $8.7 million in property taxes for state aids," Nicolini said.
Supporters are worried about state law limiting what actually goes on the ballot. They fear it will only say the tax hike is for public safety -- not specifically for 150 new officers.
Because there are still questions, there was no vote on Monday.
The Milwaukee Common Council will need to vote in August in order to get this proposal on the November ballot.