MILWAUKEE — A new day for Milwaukee County, that's how County Executive David Crowley described his 2024 recommended budget.
"If it wasn't for Act 12, we wouldn't be in this position and what Act 12 did was allow us to capture about $80 million in sales tax revenue moving forward," said Crowley.
It's the first budget surplus for the county in over two decades. The additional revenue comes from a point four percent increase in the sales tax as of January 1.
TMJ4's Andrea Williams sat down with County Executive Crowley, "That is really a breath of fresh air to get away from cuts but get to talk about investments. Not just in things, but investments in people. One of the pluses is people who are within the Milwaukee County Jail."
"When you think about those, our residents that are in our care, when they've made a decision, a bad decision right? We want to make sure when they leave our facilities that they're actually becoming better productive citizens," said Crowley.
At the Community Reintegration Center and the Milwaukee County Jail...this means up to 390 minutes of free phone calls a month...and 60 minutes of free video time. At 16 cents a minute for phone calls and 41 cents a minute for video calls, families could save up to $100 a month.
"Hearing the news that one would be able to get some free phone calls from the Milwaukee County Jail. Most people would think that's no big deal, but how big of a deal is it?"
"With the free phone calls they would probably greatly reduce a lot of stressors and alleviate that from the occupants that are here," answered Rolando, an occupant at the Milwaukee County Jail.
He's there for probation revocation. He said as a veteran who suffers from PTSD... a phone call from friends or family goes a long way. And he's seen firsthand how others can benefit from that communication as well.
"Especially on the aspect of mental health, everybody goes; everybody has different aspects that they deal with, and nobody can--some people are good at expressing those issues and being able to get the help that they need and some people are not," said Rolando.
The County Executive says the goal of free calls is to set people up for success once they leave.
"The data shows that the more support that an individual has while they're currently incarcerated, the more likely they're going to be a productive citizen once they return," said Crowley.
The County Executive says additional money will go toward pre-trial mental health screenings...allowing some people to be treated for illnesses and in the end lessen the burden on taxpayers.
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