Mayor’s “Business as Usual” Budget an Anticipated Disappointment
Statement of Alderman Scott Spiker
Question:
What do you get when you take one pound of persistent problems, shred eight ounces of unimaginativeness over it, and season the result with a dash of fatalistic resignation?
Answer:
The Mayor’s 2026 Proposed City Budget, of course.
In a move that surprised absolutely no one, the Mayor took one look at the structural deficit that lies at the heart of city finances these days and did what he did last year: he punted.
Rather than pursuing imaginative solutions to persistent problems, he opened up the dusty playbook from the previous administration and called in a familiar set of plays:
Not enough money to pave our streets? –How about an increase in the wheel tax?
Not enough cops on the beat? –How about we keep the 800-ish officers who are not on patrol, at their desks pushing paper? (The number doing that is smaller, but still far too large.)
Not enough money to keep the libraries accessible to everyone? –How about we eliminate Sunday hours everywhere but downtown, because the rest of the city doesn’t really matter anyway.
You get the picture…
What is so disheartening about the 2026 proposed budget is that there really is a moment for us to meet here. The Mayor just refuses to do so. Instead, he persists with the same tired and true approaches of taxing, borrowing, and cutting that have become the hallmarks of his administration.
We look forward to the opportunity in the weeks ahead to show the community that another path lies before us. It will require courage; it will require imagination.
It will require us to move well beyond “business as usual.”
NB: Written without any assistance from AI. As if…
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the 2026 Milwaukee Budget
- Op Ed: Why the Common Council’s Amended Budget is Good Policy for Milwaukee - Alds. Marina Dimitrijevic and Russell W. Stamper, II - Nov 20th, 2025
- Milwaukee DSA Calls on Common Council to Overrule Mayor’s Veto of 4% Worker Raises - Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America - Nov 20th, 2025
- Miffed Mayor Issues 7 Budget Vetoes - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 18th, 2025
- What’s In the 44 Footnotes Added to Milwaukee’s Budget? - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 14th, 2025
- Common Council adopts amended 2026 City budget - Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic - Nov 7th, 2025
- Council Marks Up Mayor’s 2026 Budget, Adds Services, Pay Raises - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 7th, 2025
- Committee Amends 2026 City Budget, Prioritizes Neighborhood Investment Citywide - Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic - Nov 3rd, 2025
- City Hall: Council Spends More Than Nine Hours Debating Budget Amendments - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 31st, 2025
- New Tech Could End ‘Did They Plow My Street?’ Questions - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 30th, 2025
- Size of Raises in New Police Contract Revealed - Jeramey Jannene - Oct 30th, 2025
Read more about 2026 Milwaukee Budget here
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by Ald. Scott Spiker
Truth in Advertising: Parking Tickets to be Renamed “Streetcar Stubs”
Oct 30th, 2025 by Ald. Scott SpikerStatement of Alderman Scott Spiker October 30, 2025
Good Money after Bad: Committee Hears Why We Spend Over $4 Million Net on the Streetcar while Raising Taxes and Fees
Oct 15th, 2025 by Ald. Scott SpikerStatement of Alderman Scott Spiker October 15, 2025
So what are your “imaginative” solutions Scott? It’s easy to throw stones, much harder to propose real solutions. BTW, thanks for (not) returning my call regarding the timeline for the neverending S 27th Street road project.