MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson partially vetoed an $8 million budget amendment directed towards replacing the fire department's aging fleet.
Johnson initially proposed $2 million for the fleet. Now, he is offering a $6 million compromise.
“The council’s recommendation took some money away from a project that needs to happen with the Department of Public Works. If we don’t replace the building down the valley with the Department of Public Works, we’re going to end up sinking millions of dollars in borrowing over the course of several years into that building. I’d like to move forward with both of these things,” Mayor Johnson explained.
“A little bit of disappointment, but that doesn’t do anything so now we chart a course forward,” Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said.
Lipksi stressed this is all part of the budget process and acknowledged that the mayor is dealing with sparse resources and competing interests.
When it comes to emergency fire services, some longtime Milwaukee residents told TMJ4 that they do not want old equipment to get in the way.
"Anytime first responders are hindered, that's bad for all of us,” resident Terence Ray said.
Many of the fire department's trucks are going on more than 15 years, longer than national safety recommendations.
Lipski told TMJ4 that mechanics are working overtime to keep the fleet operational. Over the weekend, they had to put their one reserve fire engine into service because of a mechanical issue. If another engine went down, the department would have to request help from a neighboring community, a move that it has done before. If another engine is not available, then the next move would be to shut down an engine company.
"It's a little bit of a ticking time bomb where we're just crossing our fingers most days going, I hope we don't have we have a rig spring, oil leak, lose a tire or have some component fall off. This is honestly what we're dealing with right now,” Chief Lipski explained.
The city's northwest side is the busiest region for MFD.
"It's quite busy on this side of town, and they need some good trucks for sure,” resident Tony Cobb responded.
Cobb lives in the city’s northwest side. He says he thinks about his grandchildren when this issue comes up.
"They need to find a way to get that taken care of,” Cobb said.
The Common Council is set to vote on the budget on November 25.
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