Divided Council Reaches Deal on Leftover Federal Pandemic Funds

Milwaukee City Hall. Building photo by Jeramey Jannene, background photo by Jericho.

Just months before it will expire, the Milwaukee Common Council decided on Tuesday how the city will spend the remainder of a $394 million federal grant.

In a series of divided votes, the council approved allocating $617,214 to two programs: the Bridge Project, which provides unconditional cash grants to low-income mothers, and the Legal Aid Society’s Eviction Free MKE program, which provides legal counsel to those facing eviction.

The proposal was crafted by Finance & Personnel Committee Chair Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, but it was twice rejected by her own committee before being adopted on the council floor.

“I chose to focus on two programs that have an exceptional return on investment, two programs that we have an amazing history with,” she said Tuesday. Dimitrijevic emphasized that $300,000 to the Bridge Project would be matched by $3.3 million from the Zilber Family Foundation to support at least 150 mothers and their children.

But that didn’t sit well with the entire council.

“I am going to be voting against this because we frankly have more pressing needs in this city,” said Ald. Mark Chambers Jr. Citing recent street takeovers, Chambers endorsed funding programs for youth and young adults. “I think we should be putting our focus on that.”

Chambers and Ald. Milele A. Coggs also dissented on the process.

“I just hate that we weren’t given more time to work with one another to decide on something the council could be proud of in this moment,” said Coggs.

More than two-thirds of the city’s $394 million American Rescue Plan Act grant, first awarded in 2021, was previously used to fill budget holes created by the pandemic and the city’s drastically declining financial position before the 2024 arrival of a city sales tax. At the end of 2026, any unspent funds must be returned to the federal Treasury, which caused the Department of Administration to trim $617,000 from prior awards it viewed as unlikely to be fully spent. Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s administration also put forth its own spending plan, which irked some council members based on their past requests to be consulted.

The city’s options for reallocating the funding are limited. Any new allocations had to be finalized by the end of 2024, which triggered a City Hall political battle. Now, any reallocations can shift funding only between previously funded programs.

But the lack of options didn’t mean there was no debate. The administration initially put forth a plan, which was never seriously debated by the council, and a second group of council members put forth a proposal to spread the funding across several more initiatives. A lengthy committee meeting last week resulted in a deadlock, and a special meeting was held early Tuesday.

“This amendment is a great compromise for the limited funds we have,” said Ald. Peter Burgelis during the special finance committee meeting. Cosponsored by Sharlen P. Moore, the funding proposal was endorsed on a 3-2 vote after Dimitrijevic’s proposal was rejected.

But the Burgelis-Moore proposal was never debated by the full council. Dimitrijevic introduced her two-item proposal, only for Coggs to “divide the question” into two separate votes. After a lengthy back-and-forth among several members and City Clerk Jim Owczarski, the council parliamentarian, the council voted.

The Bridge Project funding, $300,000, was adopted on a 9-6 vote, with Andrea Pratt, Chambers, Coggs, DiAndre Jackson, Moore and Burgelis voting no.

The Eviction Free MKE funding, $317,214, was adopted unanimously, but only after some council members confirmed with Owczarski that they needed to be on the prevailing side to move reconsideration and trigger a new vote. After a recess, no reconsideration action was introduced. Instead, the council, cleaning up from a winding series of amendments, clarified that it was zeroing out the Burgelis-Moore funding proposal to fund the Dimitrijevic package.

The two-item package was ultimately adopted on a 10-5 vote, with Pratt, Chambers, Coggs, Moore and Burgelis in opposition.

Instead of just two items, the Burgelis-Moore plan offered during the special committee meeting would have provided $195,000 for Eviction Free MKE, $200,000 to increase wages at Employ Milwaukee‘s Earn & Learn program, $55,000 for the city’s summer youth internship program and $100,000 for down payment assistance. The committee, including Dimitrijevic, rejected allocating only $67,214 to the Bridge Project.

The mayor’s proposal would have reallocated $397,214 to the Eviction Free MKE program, $100,000 to Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity and $120,000 to the Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO) energy-efficiency upgrades program.

The council is likely to get one more shot at allocating ARPA funding. Mario Higgins, director of grant administration, told the finance committee last week that he expects to identify additional funding for reallocation in August or September.

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