Infrastructure and early voting: Budget amendment aims to make a safer Milwaukee

Today, Common Council President José G. Pérez and Finance and Personnel Committee Chair Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic announced they have introduced a consensus budget amendment that increases services and makes other significant investments that will benefit all residents.

“This Council worked hard to set our city on a better fiscal path, and today we are investing funds to expand popular services,” said Dimitrijevic. The amendment moves funds to bring back Sunday hours at certain library branches. It also creates a revolving loan fund to help responsible landlords and homeowners pay for the cost of abating lead paint. It funds “soft rooms” for use by the Milwaukee Police Department, providing a more comfortable environment for police to interview victims of domestic violence and other sensitive crimes. Additionally, funding is provided for two new inspectors in the Department of Neighborhood Services for ensuring code compliance in properties managed by the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee. “We not only want to make sure residents are living in safe environments, but we also want to provide alternative spaces that are welcoming and comfortable for those that need them”, said Dimitrijevic.

The budget amendment also significantly increases the city’s investment in infrastructure. “We are using our strong financial footing this year to increase cash financing for bike infrastructure, high-impact paving, sidewalk replacement and a variety of traffic-calming measures,” said President Pérez.

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The amendment increases the Forestry Division’s capacity to stump and prune trees, which are both safety issues and an impediment to the planting of new trees. Funding would also be restored to assist small-businesses throughout the City’s commercial corridors.

“We want to thank the public for their input throughout the budget process, as many of the items included in this amendment address the concerns of residents. We believe this will help create a city with more library access, more trees, safer streets, vibrant business corridors, as well as healthier homes and children. We look forward to discussing this amendment and others at next week’s committee meeting,” said President Pérez and Alderwoman Dimitrijevic.

The full list of priorities represented in the amendment are:

· Library services

· Street repair and repaving

· Sidewalk replacement

· Traffic calming measures

· Early voting access

· Commercial corridor investment

· Urban canopy trimming and stump removal

· Proactive lead abatement

· Bike infrastructure

· Two million dollars for transformational investment in the community through the One Milwaukee Fund

The Finance and Personnel Committee will discuss all submitted budget amendments at its meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 26. The meeting can be streamed live on the City Channel (channel 25 on Spectrum Cable and channel 99 on AT&T U-Verse in the City of Milwaukee) and via streaming video on the city website at city.milwaukee.gov/Channel25. All budget amendments can be found here [milwaukee.legistar.com].