Milwaukee streetcar deficit, alderman seeks federal grant forgiveness
Alderman seeks federal grant forgiveness
A new fight is trying to stop The Hop: A Milwaukee alderman is taking his opposition to the streetcar to the Trump administration.
MILWAUKEE - A new fight is trying to stop The Hop: A Milwaukee alderman is taking his opposition to the streetcar to the Trump administration.
The backstory:
For years now, tax dollars have paid for Milwaukee's streetcar. The Hop offers free rides and is running in the red with a yearly deficit of $4 million.
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The city promised the federal government it would run the streetcar for decades. It unlocked federal money to help fund The Hop, but if the city stopped running the streetcar, it would be on the hook to pay back $48 million.
What they're saying:
On Tuesday, Ald. Scott Spiker wrote U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, asking him to let the city off the hook for its grant obligations – meaning it could stop the service and not have to repay the federal government.
"We have severe enough budget problems that we're cutting things, and the mayor is proposing to raise the vehicle registration fee. These are dire times," said Spiker. "If there is ever a better circumstance to ask for forgiveness than this, I don't know what is."
The Hop budget deficit, Milwaukee leaders debate streetcar's future
Milwaukee city leaders debated Thursday on what to do about The Hop streetcar, which is facing another $4 million operating budget deficit.
"The Hop improves downtown's bottom line. It reduces the property tax burden in neighborhoods. I would absolutely be against that," Ald. Peter Burgelis said.
Stopping The Hop would require Duffy's approval – then approval from Milwaukee's Common Council and mayor.
FOX6 News has not heard back on what Duffy thought of the letter. Two Republican state lawmakers also wrote Duffy, backing Spiker. One of them is Bob Donovan, a former Milwaukee alderman himself who was a fierce opponent of the streetcar.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced the letter and prior coverage related to The Hop, as well as interviews.