Contact:
Alan Chavoya
Outreach Chair of MAARPR
milwaukeealliance@gmail.com
[Milwaukee, WI] – Earlier today, Milwaukee’s Common Council voted in favor of adopting a 2% increase to the city’s sales tax – approved 12-3. Due to provisions in Wisconsin Act 12, the revenue generated by this sales tax increase can only be spent on paying off the fire and police pension. In future years, the revenue would need to go to hiring more police officers and firefighters.
The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression recognizes Alderwoman Coggs, Alderwoman Pratt, and Alderman Chambers for voting against this measure. We also recognize the difficult position the Milwaukee Fire Department and general city employees were placed into. The Milwaukee Alliance continues to stand in solidarity with general city employees, who are supposed to benefit from this increase, though the presentations offered in the town halls failed to explain how.
However, we cannot, in good faith, agree with this sales tax increase. We attended the town halls held last week and last night and spoke with the people who attended. It is clear to us that the situation we are facing today was avoidable. The city officials presented a lot of information about how the sales tax would unfreeze certain funds that would cover the ballooning pension costs. City officials suggested the tax would save Milwaukee from jumping over the “fiscal cliff.” Despite being told there aren’t any “apples to apples” comparisons, we listened to fear mongering anecdotes about Detroit. It was used as a warning of things to come in Milwaukee should the sales tax increase be rejected.
What we didn’t hear, which participants in the town halls called attention to, was how it is largely due to the city’s mismanagement of the budget that brought Milwaukee to fiscal trouble. It has been this mismanagement that made Milwaukee vulnerable to the vulture demands of state officials, who were licking their lips at the opportunity to force Milwaukee into this lose-lose situation. This sales tax increase will, according to city officials, buy time and give Milwaukee the chance to fight another day. How are the people of Milwaukee to trust their words if for the past several decades, they have been slashing funds from important public services in order to expand the funding for the police department?
The sales tax increase is a band-aid solution, and it will not stop the bleeding. If Milwaukee is serious about moving the city away from this fiscal cliff, city officials must take a stand against the ever-increasing police budget and their pension. A lawsuit against the Milwaukee specific provision in Act 12 is a good step forward. Furthermore, to save Milwaukee from future situations like this, we will need to drastically reduce the spending on the police and increase funding for city services, public education, safe recreational opportunities, and other initiatives that keep Milwaukee communities safe. We can no longer afford to be at the whim of politicians who refuse to fund the needs of our people.
