Supervisors Johnson, Schmitt Commend County Board on Budget Balance

Milwaukee County Supervisors Willie Johnson, Jr., and Jim “Luigi” Schmitt today congratulated the Milwaukee County Board for passing an amended 2016 budget that balanced the needs of County residents in the areas of public safety, parks and transit.

The $1.37 billion budget was passed by the County Board on a vote of 14-3.

“This was a tough balancing act,” said Schmitt, who co-chairs the budget-writing Finance, Personnel, and Audit committee with Johnson. “The County Executive proposed a budget that was difficult to balance, since we started with a $4 million budget hole to pay for Milwaukee County’s share of the new Bucks arena that resulted in a reduction in state aid of $4 million. That hole was reflected in cuts to the Sheriff’s office.

“But we balanced fiscal responsibility with the needs of Milwaukee County residents, and the Board has passed a sensible budget that accomplishes both.”

Johnson said the budget represented the desires of County residents as expressed during a month of public meetings and public hearings.

“We passed a budget that was reflective of the public comments we heard during an open and transparent process during weeks of testimony,” Johnson said. “We enhanced public safety, parks and transit while keeping within a responsible budget. We accomplished the goal of providing residents with the services they expect while staying within our means.”

Schmitt added that the net tax levy increase of 1.4 percent resulted completely from the Board’s restoration of public safety cuts made by the County Executive in his budget proposal. In essence, the tax levy increase was zero when accounting for the Board’s action to fill the $4 million public safety shortfall.

By  Supervisor Willie Johnson, Jr. and Supervisor Jim “Luigi” Schmitt

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.