MILWAUKEE -- Mayor Tom Barrett was joined by George Hinton of the Social Development Commission Sunday to discuss funding to fix Milwaukee's lead abatement problem.
The mayor is proposing plans to add another $2.2 million dollars in funding to combat the lead crisis. He's expected to discuss the plans in a meeting with the common council this week.
The proposed allocation would be an addition to more than $20 million dollars already reserved to fight the lead crisis in 2020.
“This funding is critical because it provides the matching requirements for the $5.6 million dollar Lead and Healthy Homes Grant the HUD award this city in October,” Barrett said during the press conference.
The announcement came at a good time for residents of the 53206 zip code where the city plans to preform significant upgrades. Carlotte Perskins said that her grandson got sick because of lead exposure.
“His father had to move out of the home,” Perkins said. “I didn’t know lead was that dangerous.”
For more information on city sponsored programs to combat lead exposure, click here.
