Milwaukee homicides, reckless driving among challenges mayor will face

Oct 31, 2023

Milwaukee's next mayor won't be bored.

Whoever wins what is shaping up to be a multi-way race will confront critical decisions on Day 1.

He or she will be faced with two straight years of record-high homicides and reckless driving that has taken scores of lives in addition to questions of how the city should fund — and redefine — public safety.

The next mayor will also contend with challenging financial straits made that much more difficult by a quickly approaching spike in the city's annual pension contribution that is threatening city services.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge officials and residents alike. The city's death toll from the virus has surpassed 900, and the vaccination rate remains stubbornly around 60% for residents at least 16 years old.

If there's any bright spot, it is a remaining nearly $200 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars that city officials will decide how to spend. And then there's the federal infrastructure money the city intends to seek.

This is only a shortlist, and the Journal Sentinel would like to hear what readers see as the biggest issues the next mayor will need to tackle. Email [email protected] to share your thoughts and questions for the candidates.

As of Thursday, 12 candidates had filed to run for the job in a rare election without an incumbent.

Former Mayor Tom Barrett resigned in late December to become U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg.

Common Council President Cavalier Johnson automatically became acting mayor and is among those running to fill the remaining two years of Barrett's term.

Also in the race are Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, former Ald. Bob Donovan, Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas, state Sen. Lena Taylor, Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer, Michael Sampson, Nick McVey, Sheila Conley-Patterson, Joel Paplham, Wenona Lee Gardner and Ieshuh Griffin.

Those interested in the job must collect at least 1,500 signatures by Tuesday to make it onto the ballot.

A primary is scheduled for Feb. 15 and the spring election will take place April 5.

More:Milwaukee mayoral candidates vie for rare open seat. Here's what you should know.

Here is a review of some of the top-line issues Milwaukee's next mayor will confront:

Milwaukee closed 2021 with 197 lives lost to homicide, including those investigated by police and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

That figure marks the second record-setting year in a row as cities nationwide have struggled with violent crime since the pandemic descended.

In 2020, 190 people died in homicides in Milwaukee, more than twice the number from 2019.

And 2022 began on a violent note, with a series of shootings on New Year's Day, including one that killed a 40-year-old man and another that injured a 9-year-old boy. On Jan. 2, a 16-year-old girl was fatally shot in an apparent business robbery.

The city, too, has been struggling to address reckless driving that dates to before the pandemic and continues to take lives.

According to police, 65 people were killed in 60 crashes between Jan. 1 and Dec. 29 last year. In that time, 302 crashes led to 346 incapacitating injuries and more than 4,000 crashes resulted in possible injuries or injuries not deemed incapacitating.

Drivers speeding onto school lawns have made their rounds on social media. One resident described "a city gripped by terror" and created his own traffic circle near his Sherman Park home.

The city has taken a series of steps, including last year launching a Traffic Safety Unit at the Police Department and allocating $7.15 million in federal pandemic aid, with $1.15 million for Police Department traffic enforcement and $6 million for the Department of Public Works to improve traffic safety.

But larger questions loom: What should public safety look like in Milwaukee and who should be involved?

Many key policing decisions rest with the city's Fire and Police Commission and the department, but the mayor and Common Council control the budget.

The new mayor will take over two years after historic marches against police brutality and racial inequity in Milwaukee and across the nation following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

While the marches have faded, the discussion about policing in Milwaukee continues.

Among the key topics is the large share of the city's budget that goes to the Police Department year after year, particularly compared to city investments in community supports such as affordable housing that some argue would help address root causes of crime. There are also efforts underway to find alternatives to a police response to some 911 calls.

A task force created to find ways to divert 911 calls from police has struggled to get its bearings but city officials say its work will begin in earnest this year.

Closely tied to the question of policing is the issue of the city's finances.

As the city shed police officer positions in recent years, Barrett repeatedly said the decision to not replace those who left was "fiscal not philosophical."

The department's 2022 budget is $280.4 million — about 46% of the city's $610.9 million general city purposes budget. (The Police Department's budget, however, is not half of the city's overall $1.76 billion 2022 budget, a common misconception.)

The general city purposes budget is a section of the overall budget that funds the general operations of the city, including departments' expenses and expenses for employees' health care benefits and workers' compensation. Big-ticket items such as debt service, capital improvements and a portion of retiree costs are funded outside of the general city purposes budget.

City leaders cite financial challenges stemming from stagnant shared revenue coming back to the city from the state coupled with the state-imposed limits on local governments' options to raise revenue, including through a local sales tax.

On top of that, the city is facing a huge anticipated spike in its annual pension contribution starting in 2023, which one analysis found could result in a quarter of the city's workforce being let go between 2023 and 2025.

The city's fire and police sworn personnel make up about 80% of the city's total pension costs.

The city will adopt its 2023 budget in the fall of this year.

However, the effects of the pension spike could be delayed a couple of years, depending on how the next mayor and the Common Council allocate the remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funds the city is in line to receive.

The federal funds made it possible for the city to include a $40 million influx into its pension reserve fund in the 2022 budget, bringing the fund to about $82 million by the end of this year. The fund is meant to help ease the spike in the annual contribution.

Council members added $30 million to the fund on top of $10 million proposed by Barrett. They managed this by substituting pieces of other departments' budgets with ARPA funds, freeing up tax dollars to put toward the pension.

A potential relief valve could be a sales tax under discussion between Milwaukee and Milwaukee County leaders and state Sen. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield. A key sticking point has been police funding, with Kooyenga saying he needed a commitment that the city would maintain police positions and Barrett saying he could not make such a commitment given the city's fiscal challenges.

This could become a key question for the city's next mayor.

The second half of the $394.2 million the city is expected to receive in American Rescue Plan Act funds is set to land in city coffers this year.

Barrett and the council last year decided to spend the first $197 million on affordable housing, lead paint abatement, pandemic response and more.

That leaves critical decisions ahead when it comes to spending the second $197 million sum.

The city is also expected to pursue funding from the $1.2 trillion federal bipartisan infrastructure bill that will provide funding for projects including roads, public transportation and power grids, in addition to water infrastructure such as lead pipes.

As with the rest of the globe, Milwaukee remains in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city has seen more than 900 deaths and cases are on yet another upswing. The city is not under a health order and has a mask "advisory" instead of a mask mandate in place.

The next mayor will have to balance the health of the city's residents with the economic pressures, not to mention a city vaccination rate that is creeping up ever so slowly in the 16-plus age group.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.

The Journal Sentinel would like to hear what readers see as the biggest issues the next mayor will need to tackle. Email [email protected] or call 414-224-2383 to share your thoughts and questions for the candidates.

Note regarding the form below: Some users of our app tell us they cannot open the form. If that's the case, please try this link instead.)