Milwaukee $150M 2024 budget gap, doomsday scenarios proposed

MILWAUKEE - The city of Milwaukee faces a major budget gap in 2024, and it’s expected to grow. The Common Council Steering and Rules Committee asked leaders of the city’s three largest departments not funded by grants or fees to come up with doomsday scenarios for cuts.  

Leaders of the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee Fire Department and the Milwaukee Public Library were asked to show what cuts of 10%, 15% and 20% would look like. The cuts are drastic and include getting rid of employees already facing burnout, according to their leaders.

The city has a more than $150 million budget gap for 2024. Leaders say that number is likely to grow with inadequate state funding and pension costs.

"It’s not what we want to do," said Nicole Waldner, MPD assistant chief. "I don’t see any other way around it."

Common Council Steering and Rules Committee

They are doomsday scenarios that could become reality.

"If nothing changes with our revenue picture, these are scenarios that will be very likely," said Nik Kovac, city budget director.

City leaders asked three of the largest departments to take a hard look at cuts.

"Obviously, it’s an inadequate support to the largest city in the state of Wisconsin that we’re in this situation," said Milwaukee Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic.

For MPD, the cuts could mean closing District 6 and getting rid of mounted patrol, body cameras and dozens of officers.

Milwaukee police 

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"Would it slow us down and make us not the best department that I would rather us be? Absolutely," said Waldner. 

Cuts would change the fire department, eliminating apparatus and battalion chiefs, slowing down potential response times.

"We’re going to make it work, and we always do, but it is not going to be sustainable if we go down this route," said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.

The reductions would mean libraries would close, employees would be laid off and services would be gone.

Milwaukee Fire Department

"We would have no chance of continuing to work our way to being a world-class city if we really didn’t have a library system to support that," said Joan Johnson, library director.

While the cuts were hypothetical in this situation, leaders said they could be a reality if something doesn't change. The city wants to avoid this worst-case scenario.

"The gloomiest days are ahead of us when really we should be building for the future," said Dimitrijevic.

Milwaukee Public Library 

Budget talks for 2024 begin in the coming months. Exactly what that will look like isn't known at this point, but these departments really don't want them to be as dramatic as these scenarios.