Mayor’s Veto Reduces Property Tax

Mayor Cavalier Johnson addresses a crowd at an event. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson vetoed a single line of the $1.92 billion 2024 Milwaukee budget.

His veto attempts to save the owner of a median home $1.46 on their property tax bill by spending down a federal grant instead of raising the property tax levy. The Common Council added $269,848 in tax levy supported spending to the budget, increasing the median property tax bill an additional $1.46 beyond the $50.09 (2%) increase included in the mayor’s proposed budget.

“In a year when we have had to make tough decisions in order to stabilize our fiscal future – and many of those necessary decisions have increased what our residents will pay next year in sales taxes, fees, and property taxes, I would ask that we use our existing resources before we ask them for even more,” wrote Johnson in a veto message to the council.

Johnson proposes the council pay for the cut by reducing the proposed Citizen-Led Transformation Fund from $2.4 million to $2.13 million. Johnson had initially proposed $5 million for the fund, but the council’s budget amendments cut the amount in order to increase library hours, repave more streets, fund two domestic violence victim service facilities, provide small business grants and a series of other service enhancements. The transformation fund is funded by property tax revenue freed up by spending down the remainder of the council’s $394.2 million American Rescue Plan Act grant elsewhere in the budget.

“Several amendments were made to my proposed budget, and while I do not agree with all of them, I do agree with most of them,” wrote Johnson. “And in the few cases where the Council’s priorities differed from my own, I found the reasoning behind those new investments to be solid and clear. I recognize that the budget crafting process is a collaboration between the executive and legislative branches, and I respect that the Council has displayed remarkable effort and consideration in their review of the budget.”

The Common Council will review the veto at its Nov. 21 meeting. The council adopted the budget on a 14-1 vote, with only Alderman Mark Borkowski voting in opposition. But council members Scott Spiker and Michael Murphy joined Borkowski in voting against every amendment that added to the tax levy.

The tax levy expanding amendments include a $150,000 proposal from Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs to expand the Office of Equity and Inclusion’s Direct Connect MKE job connection program, a $20,000 proposal from Ald. Mark Chambers, Jr. to expand a $30,000 fund used to fund city events, a $30,000 proposal from Ald. Khalif Rainey to expand Hip Hop Week MKE and a $69,848 amendment from Council President José G. Pérez to fund an administrative services coordinator position and travel expenses for the council’s expanded two-person lobbying team, the Division of Legislative Affairs.

The council needs 10 votes to override a veto.

If the veto is overriden, the city’s mill rate would be $9.47 per $1,000 of assessed value. The total levy is to be $317,696,575. The city’s property tax levy represents approximately a third of local property tax bills.

Residents and visitors will encounter a new 7.9% sales tax rate next year, an increase on the 5.5% current rate. The city was granted a 2% sales tax and Milwaukee County was given an additional 0.4% sales tax. Both taxes are to cover drastically rising pension costs. Surplus funding from the city’s tax must be spent on public safety until the city hits benchmark figures stipulated in the state legislation.

For more on the 2024 budget, see our earlier coverage.

UPDATE: The nature of the transformation fund’s funding source was expanded to provide additional clarity.