Milwaukee police union contract; officers to get 1st pay raise in years
MPD officers to get first pay raise in years
Milwaukee police officers will get their first pay raise in years. The union says they need it to recruit more officers and keep the city safe. But what does it mean for your tax dollars?
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee police officers will get their first pay raise in years. The union says they need it to recruit more officers and keep the city safe. But what does it mean for your tax dollars?
Police contract approved
By the numbers:
The last contract with the Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) ran out in 2022. Three years later, the Milwaukee Common Council approved a new one on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
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The new contract will give officers back pay for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. The city estimates that will be roughly $25 million.
The contract also gives officers another raise in 2026.
In total, the four-year deal raises police officer pay by 14.25%.
According to city documents, officer pay in 2026 will range from $77,000 up to $104,000 per officer.
Common Council vote
What they're saying:
The Common Council's vote was ten "yes," one "no," and four abstentions.
"The reason I proudly cast a no vote today is because I know that my constituents want accountability for our city’s police department. They want safety, but they also want officers, individual officers to be accountable for their actions and for the department as a whole to be accountable to public officials and the public," said Milwaukee Alderman Alex Brower.
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"The need to properly compensate the officers that have been working since 2022 or 2023 without a contract was not hard, but moving forward, the decisions are going to be much tougher," said Milwaukee Alderman Mark Chambers.
Both Brower and Chambers said in future years, the city will need more shared revenue from the state.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee Common Council.