Seeking greatest return on investment, budget amendment drives funding into neighborhoods

After weeks of discussion, debate, and deliberation, the message was received loud and clear: residents want to see investment into their neighborhoods to support their day-to-day quality of life. As we approach budget amendment day on Friday, October 31, the budget amendment we have worked with colleagues to put forward does just that and achieves our initial vision of creating a stronger city for everyone, where we can all thrive.

Libraries remain the backbone of many neighborhoods. They are not just stabilizers, but beacons of hope and accessibility for our future generations. This amendment builds on our prior funding allocation to open libraries on Sundays and adds two additional branches to that list: the Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch and the Mitchell Street Branch.

Perhaps the best way to strengthen neighborhoods is to promote homeownership. As such, we are increasing funding for upstream housing stability programs, such as eviction prevention, to avoid harmful and costly housing loss, while also increasing funding for the City’s highly successful Milwaukee Home Down Payment Assistance Program, which has helped reduce the homeownership gap for our Black and Latino residents. Together, these housing investments total just under $1 million.

We also know that our City employees are the human infrastructure that keeps everything moving forward. Countless employees stepped up earlier this year to support those impacted by the historic flooding, and provide invaluable work across the board daily. We want to continue reinvesting in our employees who share the commitment to creating a healthy city by adding a 2% wage increase for general city workers who reside in the City of Milwaukee on top of the Mayor’s initial proposed increase of 2%.

This omnibus amendment responds to the calls of constituents who made their voices heard throughout this year’s budget process. We want to thank everyone who attended the Joint Public Hearing or the Finance and Personnel Committee’s special hearing at King Library, took our new budget survey, or contacted their Alderperson to share their priorities. The budget process is at its best when public engagement is high, as it allows us to construct the best possible budget.

Funding for this omnibus amendment is offset by more than $2 million of unexpected revenue received by the City and recognized by the comptroller. Full details on this amendment, and others, can be viewed here.

Budget amendment day will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, October 31 in room 301-B of City Hall, 200 E. Wells St. The meeting will also be streamed live on the City Channel (channel 25 on Spectrum Cable and channel 99 on AT&T U-Verse in the City of Milwaukee) and via streaming video on the city website at city.milwaukee.gov/Channel25.

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.