City, County Extend Funding for Eviction Prevention, Legal Aid

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

A county program offering legal counsel to residents facing eviction was saved from running out of funding Thursday.

The program — branded as Eviction Free MKE — provides free legal counsel for residents facing eviction and can’t afford an attorney. It is administered by United Way of Milwaukee and Waukesha and the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee provides the legal services.

The program was created in 2021 after the Milwaukee County Board passed legislation calling on the county administration to develop a program providing a “right to counsel” for indigent Milwaukee families facing eviction. It was initially funded with approximately $3 million from the county, the City of Milwaukee and the United Way.

The program budget runs out in 2025 and County Executive David Crowley did not include new funding in his proposed budget, as the administration began the process with an estimated $24 million budget gap to close.

County officials worked with their counterparts at the city to pull together approximately $500,000 in public funding to sustain the program. The county board’s Committee on Finance approved a budget amendment on Thursday that provided $250,000. The city’s Common Council approved its portion earlier this month.

“This program keeps families in their homes, it gives children the stability that comes from going to bed in your own bed every night and is a bulwark against the increase in homelessness we are already experiencing across Milwaukee County,” said Sup. Jack Eckblad, who sponsored the amendment.

The amendment uses property tax funding that was freed up after the Milwaukee County Treasurer’s office updated its calculation of unclaimed funds for 2023, adding approximately $2.25 million to the county budget after the county executive’s budget proposal was released, according to Joe Lamers, director of the Office of Strategy, Budget and Performance, who expressed the county executive’s support for the amendment.

Given the county’s precarious financial future, it’s important to invest the county’s limited funding in programs that save money down the road and have partnerships to sustain the program when county funding runs out, Eckblad said.

The supervisor was referencing a report by Stout, a global investment bank and advisory firm, that reviewed the program and estimated that for every $1 spent on the program and additional $3 was saved in other areas of government spending including foster care, housing, healthcare spending, lost economic value due to migration out of Milwaukee and federal and state funding for Milwaukee Public Schools.

Lamers told supervisors that the county hasn’t identified savings to its own budget and that much of the savings were for state and federal programs. He suggested this would be a good point for the county to make to state and federal officials in appeal for future funding.

The funding from the city and the county will help sustain the program until the Legal Aid Society and United Way can identify long-term sources of revenue.

“I can assure you that I view this as bridge money,” said Colleen Foley, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee.

The program was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from the Rocket Community Fund, a foundation based in Detroit and the philanthropic arm of Rocket Mortgage. “So I’m hopeful and confident that we can show them what a great job we’re doing and get more money moving forward,” Foley said.

The Stout report, which evaluated the program between September 2021 and December 2022, found the program prevented eviction judgments in 76% of cases; led to sealed eviction records in 72% of cases; and prevented an involuntary move in 70% of cases.

Along with the public and grant funding, Foley told supervisors she anticipates United Way will contribute additional resources. The nonprofit is still in the midst of a fundraising campaign and the eviction program is part of the organization’s Safe & Stable Homes initiative.

“So I would be surprised if they don’t invest in this program moving forward,” Foley said.

The amendment was unanimously adopted by the board’s Committee on Finance. It will be voted on by the full board during adoption of the annual budget.

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