Council Marks Up Mayor’s 2026 Budget, Adds Services, Pay Raises

Milwaukee City Hall. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff.

The Milwaukee Common Council has done its part to craft a city budget for 2026.

The council adopted its amendments Friday to Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s proposed $2.07 billion 2026 budget. The amendments add a less than 1% property tax increase additional Sunday library hours, a raise for city workers, fund down payment assistance and eviction legal representation programs, and purchase additional new fire trucks and engines for the city’s aging fleet.

Johnson can now issue partial vetoes. The council will meet on Nov. 25 to override or uphold any vetoes, finalizing the budget.

The biggest change the council made was to increase pay for general city workers. Johnson had proposed a 2 percent increase, but the council expanded it to 3 percent and increased the city’s residency incentive from 3 percent to 4 percent. The raise for elected officials is capped at 3 percent.

“I talk a lot about the difference between surviving and thriving,” said Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, the lead sponsor of the omnibus proposal. “That’s the kind of city I want … Our residents deserve the best city services, and that doesn’t happen on its own. An investment in our city workers is an investment in the city of Milwaukee.” Seventy percent of general city workers, which excludes sworn police and fire personnel, live in the city.

Ald. Alex Brower donned a high visibility vest, which he said was in support of the workers and obtained on a public works ride along. “Those employees are doing the hard work that we need,” he said.

AFSCME steward Ian Gunther, a Milwaukee Water Works employee, led the group of sign-holding union members in a chant of “union power” each time the amendment advanced through the meeting.

The council also allocated $800,000 to the city’s down payment assistance program, which provides up to $7,000 grants for qualifying homebuyers. Requested by the Community Development Alliance, it builds on a $600,000 allocation by the mayor. Eviction Free MKE would also receive $100,000 for its right-to-counsel program for those facing eviction.

Council members reached a compromise with the administration on the funding source for the down payment assistance program which reduced the size of the tax levy increase. Unspent funding from the 2021 closeout of a tax incremental financing district will be used for the $800,000 allocation. A second amendment from Burgelis reduced the levy impact by an additional $50,000 by pulling the funding from within the Milwaukee Police Department.

Also included in the omnibus amendment is $75,000 to support the development of the newly-created innovation district, $50,000 to seed a workforce development and mental health program at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, $50,000 for the city’s Safety and Civic Commission, $104,000 for new cameras for Channel 25, the city’s public access channel, $30,000 for Hip Hop Week MKE, $150,000 for annual cleanup initiative Big Clean MKE, $37,000 for the MKE Community Excellence Fund and $4,000 for a legislative expense fund.

The omnibus amendment was led by Dimtrijevic and Ald. Peter Burgelis, the chair and vice chair of the Finance & Personnel Committee.

Ald. Scott Spiker was the lone vote in opposition. He cited future budgetary pressures as the primary reason for his opposition. Spiker attempted to shrink or alter the omnibus amendment with three separate amendments of his own, each of which was rejected or withdrawn.

Despite its overwhelming passage, the proposal wasn’t met with universal admiration.

Ald. Andrea Pratt said the council missed an opportunity to address food insecurity, an issue that has become center in political discourse in the wake of the federal shutdown.

Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa noted that one of the funding sources for the $6 million package was cutting a recently-filled innovation policy analyst job within the Department of Administration. “I can’t celebrate too much, because we laid off one city worker,” said Zamarripa.

After considering more than 110 amendments, many of which were policy footnotes, the council unanimously passed the budget.

Tax and fee results

Because of the omnibus and several smaller amendments, the owner of a median-valued Milwaukee home ($192,500) would pay about $16 more, in addition to the $77 increase already in the mayor’s proposal. The median homeowner would see the city share of their property tax bill rise to about $1,470.

The amount excludes the other property tax entities, including Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee County.

The approximately $340 million city tax levy is one of several sources the city is using to close its $100 million structural deficit in 2026.

The council did not adjust any of the mayor’s proposed fees increases, which averaged 4%. The proposed budget calls for the average homeowner to see their fees increase by $22.88, from $583.20 to $606.08. Those costs are also borne by tax-exempt properties.

The council added $9.2 million in new spending, including $2.9 million to the property tax levy.

Wheel tax

The council, in an action taken last month, delayed the adoption of the mayor’s proposed vehicle registration fee (wheel tax) increase. Johnson proposed adding $10 to the city’s $30 wheel tax. The move would generate approximately $3 million in revenue over a full calendar year, but the council previously criticized Johnson for requesting the council adopt the tax increase ahead of the budget.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation requires a three-month notice to modify the fee.

The delay created a $250,000 gap in the budget. But the council found a way to fill it Friday: they voted to increase the wheel tax by $11, not $10.

Fire truck funding

The mayor’s budget includes $2 million for the Milwaukee Fire Department to buy a new truck or engine. Fire Chief Aaron Lipski had requested more than $14 million to replace more of the city’s 43 piece fleet. A national association recommends heavy apparatus be in frontline service for up to 15 years.

An amendment from Burgelis added $8 million to Johnson’s $2 million. It is funded by $4 million in new borrowing and eliminating $4 million in borrowing for the planned $30 million replacement of the Department of Public Works Municipal Services Building, 1540 W. Canal St.

New engines or trucks cost approximately $2 million each.

The aging issue has become more acute as the city has reopened fire houses by placing old equipment back into service.

“The City of Milwaukee has replaced more than three pieces of equipment once in the last 10 years,” said Burgelis. “This reverses a trend of under investment in the fire department.”

Robert Bauman, Coggs and Spiker were the lone no votes against the proposal.

During a committee hearing last week, Budget Director Nik Kovac had opposed the measure because it increased the city’s borrowing above the mayor’s $116 million cap and cut funding for replacing a building that is costing the city $1 million annually. Kovac, in a prior meeting, said the administration is committed to working MFD on a funding solution.

Kovac, in response to several other budget amendments, said the council was also getting close to the state-imposed limit on its property tax levy increase. Meeting the cap would compound future budget difficulties he said.

What might the mayor veto?

The mayor’s office issued a brief statement following the budget’s adoption, though the administration has made clear its opposition to several of the new spending provisions during a committee hearing last week.

“[Johnson] continues to prioritize fiscal responsibility for 2026 and for the years ahead,” said a spokesperson Friday. “He will review the Council actions in the coming days as he considers his next steps.”

Streetcar

Spiker’s push to defund The Hop gained no traction with his colleagues, despite a series of press releases and a flurry of social media activity. His letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asking for the federal government to forgive the prorated balance of the $70 million grant used to build the system generated no response.

But he did succeed in having a footnote adopted that instructs Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke to develop a plan to collect fares.

“This is a waste of time. Collecting fares will cost more than it generates,” said Bauman.

Spiker said he was seeking to reduce the cost of the system. Coggs said she favored getting the information.

But Bauman said the amendment goes further than that and directs the commissioner to implement.

“It may very well increase the cost of streetcar operations,” said Bauman.

“I think the intent is fairly clear. ‘Commissioner, get creative on how you collect a streetcar fare,'” said Spiker.

Bauman’s argument failed to persuade enough of his colleagues to defeat Spiker’s amendment.

Brower, Bauman, Larresa Taylor, Dimitrjevic and Burgelis voted against the proposal, but Burgelis then flipped his vote in favor of the proposal.

Tax bill mailing

The council can’t avoid drama around mailing property tax payment receipts.

The administration tried to strip funding for automatic receipt mailing last year, only for the council to add it back with a $71,000 amendment. Several members, including Dimitrijevic and Spiker, said they were only on board if it was the last year of automatic mailing.

Treasurer Spencer Coggs didn’t request money for the mailing in 2026, but new Deputy City Treasurer LaQuisha Schroeder backed Ald. Mark Chambers, Jr’s $70,000 amendment to restore it. The amendment strips $50,000 from an account used for DPW salaries and $20,000 for mailings from the Board of Zoning Appeals, which administrator India Gaar said on Oct. 31 didn’t appear to be needed.

An amendment by Spiker would have reduced the funding to exclude those that pay via escrow and those that pay electronically, leaving only $25,000.

“I would still mail the paper receipts for everyone that mails it to you,” said Spiker

His amendment failed on a 3-11 vote, with only Brower and Zamarripa joining in support.

Without a mayoral veto, property tax bills will be mailed in 2026, whether the payer wants it or not.

Chambers was absent from the entire meeting with a excused absence to attend a funeral.

Urban Milwaukee will have full coverage next week of the policy footnotes passed as part of the budget.