Crowley’s 2025 Budget Avoids Service Cuts

County Executive David Crowley at Coggs Center Groundbreaking. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s 2025 budget recommendation marks a return to annual budget deficits for county government.

Last year, thanks to the passage of Wisconsin Act 12 and the new 0.4% sales tax, Milwaukee County policymakers had the first budget surplus in decades, an unprecedented property tax reduction and the opportunity to make investments in county services and infrastructure.

This year, the county executive unveiled a $1.3 billion budget with a 2.8% property tax increase, totaling approximately $8 million in new revenue for the budget. However, because of the $24 million property tax decrease in 2024 the property tax rates will remain below 2020 levels.

Act 12 Success and Fiscal Cliff Challenges

In March this year the Office of the Milwaukee County Comptroller was projecting an $11.5 million budget deficit. However, rising healthcare costs and lower expectations for investment revenue and sales tax collections drove the budget deficit to approximately $24 million by the time Crowley and his administration began working on the budget.

As a result, tax levy support for most departments was kept flat. Departments were forced to find ways to cover inflationary cost increases within their existing budgets. In doing so, the budget avoids major cuts to county programs and services.

With small reductions in tax funding spread across the county and the help from an increased property tax levy, the recommended budget avoids major cuts to county programs and services.

“If nothing had changed, I would be standing here presenting a budget that includes massive cuts to the programs and services that so many people rely on,” Crowley said. “That is not happening, because that is no longer our reality.”

Public Safety Budget Increase

Crowley’s budget includes a significant budget increase for the Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s Office (MCSO), the Circuit Court System and the Community Reintegration Center (CRC), together totaling $13 million.

The sheriff’s office, county jail and CRC have struggled to retain staff for years and have relied heavily on overtime to maintain staffing, contributing further to a crisis of low morale among staff. The issue most recently came to a head when the MCSO announced it would no longer use mandatory overtime to maintain bailiff staffing at the courts, citing the unsustainable burnout caused by excessive overtime.

The MCSO would receive an approximately $5 million increase in tax levy support, boosting the budget in 2025 to $64.7 million. Most of the additional revenue will increase the MCSO overtime budget by $2.1 million, create nine new deputy positions for court security and develop a pilot program using retired sheriff’s deputies to staff the court system with hourly bailiffs.

Crowley noted that the MCSO budget has gone up by approximately $16 million over the past four years “just to maintain the same level and quality of state-mandated services that are administered by this department.”

Under Crowley’s budget, the CRC, a post-conviction correctional facility run by the county, would see a $6.3 million tax levy increase raising the budget to $65.4 million. The funding will support increased overtime and raises for correctional officers, as well as a $3.1 million increase for the food service contract.

“Now, while I recognize the importance of the services we deliver on behalf of the state, I would prefer to use our local dollars to invest in local priorities, like affordable housing, mental health services, public transit, safer streets, and our parks,” Crowley said.

Parks

Despite the tight fiscal situation heading into 2025, the Parks budget is expected to see an approximately $2.3 million increase.

Crowley’s recommended budget reduces property tax support for the budget next year, but the department is still expecting to see $2.7 million in additional revenue from a handful of sources including federal grants, revenue generated by fees and services and approximately $560,000 from the Milwaukee Parks Foundation.

“This will create 10 new full time positions that will support the increased recreational activity and business services taking place at these community assets, which help generate revenue for parks programming,” Crowley said.

Transit

The Milwaukee County Transit System avoids cuts in 2025 thanks to a continued spend down of federal stimulus funding. The transit system will use approximately $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

The transit system has struggled to overcome a structural deficit for years. The massive infusion of federal stimulus funds during the COVID-19 pandemic has backfilled the annual budget gap since 2020. MCTS officials recently announced their plan to pause development of a new bus rapid transit route to save additional ARPA funding and save the transit budget until 2028.

“But looking ahead, I’m ready to work with you all to advocate for transportation funding from our state and federal partners so we can keep providing and expanding public transit services in the future,” the county executive told members of the Milwaukee County Board Tuesday.

Courthouse Project

Crowley’s recommended budget keeps the county’s new courthouse project alive. County officials are working on plans for a new criminal courthouse to replace the dilapidated Safety Building, 821 W. State St.

The county has limited cash funding for infrastructure projects, and Crowley’s budget recommends using approximately $6 million to keep planning and design on track into 2025. The project will likely end up being the biggest in county government history, with cost estimates as high as $500 million.

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Related Legislation: Find Crowley's 2025 recommended budget here