The Milwaukee Common Council voted to override all of Mayor Tom Barrett’s vetoes of the council’s amendments to the 2019 city budget.
The Milwaukee Common Council voted Tuesday to override all of Mayor Tom Barrett’s five vetoes of the council’s amendments to the 2019 city budget.
The council voted to approve the $1.53 billion budget two weeks ago. Mayor Barrett issued five vetoes last week, citing concerns he had regarding the increase in the property tax levy—of which the council increased by $948,000 through their amendments.
Police Officers or Nurses?
The council chose to ignore the mayor’s wishes, overriding four of his vetoes completely, while offering an amendment to a fifth. This amendment will add three police officers and five Milwaukee Health Department positions to the budget. The amendment will also create a $239,000 special purpose fund for the Health Department to combat infant mortality, STI rates and the lead epidemic.
The original amendment, which was spearheaded by Alderman Nik Kovac at the council meeting two weeks ago, would’ve created a $425,000 special purpose account for the Health Department. But the amendment would have eliminated a police recruiting class of 10 cadets—leading Mayor Barrett to veto the amendment. The mayor’s veto preserved the five new Health Department positions but called for an increase of six police officers.
“My proposed substitute accomplishes what the council sought to do, additional resources for both public health and the police,” said Mayor Barrett in a letter to the council.
|
Although the mayor’s veto was upheld by a 9-6 vote, Ald. Kovac offered up another amendment as a compromise which lessens the special purpose account and adds three police officer positions instead of the mayor’s proposed six. This amendment was agreed upon by the council by a vote of 12-3.
“This is not a fight about more officers, it’s a fight about what we can afford and how to spend our resources,” said Ald. Kovac. The council debated about whether more or fewer police are needed in the streets at the original budget hearing.
Alderman Michael Murphy, who supported the mayor’s veto, voted in favor of the new amendment. “We should give [the Health Department] the flexibility to have decision making as to what they think is the highest priority,” he said. “This tries to reach that balance…this is a fair compromise.”
Healthy Food
Mayor Barrett chose to veto an amendment created by Alderman Khalif Rainey that adds $200,000 to the budget to create a “Healthy Food Establishment Special Fund.” The mayor said the city has created incentives and funds to open five new grocery stores in the past 10 years, including the new Pete's Fruit Market on the north side. He also said the city has “elevated nutrition as a health priority,” through multiple programs and plans. However, Ald. Rainey was not happy about the veto. “I’m disheartened by the mayor’s veto,” he said. “It’s like taking food from the mouth of a baby.”
The American Heart Association also issued a press release encouraging the council to override the veto because of the vastness of “food deserts,” or areas without healthy options for food, throughout Milwaukee. The council voted 13-2 to override the veto, Alds. Michael Murphy and Terry Witkowski being the only no votes.
Additional Vetoes
The council also chose to uphold the creation of four new COP (Community Oriented Policing) houses in Milwaukee at the price tag of $375,000. COP houses are homes which police officers generally staff during daytime hours. They can be used as a community resource and were made popular in Racine, Wis. during the 1990’s. The council overrode the mayor’s veto of the amendment by a vote of 10-5.
However, some aldermen disagreed on whether the COP houses should include funding for police officers to hold full-time positions at the homes. Alderman Tony Zielinski originally introduced a plan that included funding for full-time staffing, however, the plan was voted down by the council. He said his plan was endorsed by MPD Chief Alfonso Morales. “This is not a true COP house,” he said of the amendment, which was spearheaded by Ald. Milele Coggs.
Ald. Coggs said that these houses, as planned, will make an impact. Her amendment does not include funding for full-time positions in the homes. “It’s merely a fight to do something different… to touch communities in a way they have not been touched before,” she said.
The mayor also chose to veto the funding of a new Inspector General position, saying that this position should be “free from political interference.” The position was created months ago to create an independent watchdog over the city’s many departments. However, the council and mayor have disagreed about the role of the position—the mayor saying it should be free from the interference of politics, while the council saying it should be placed within the City Clerk’s office. The council overrode the veto by a vote of 10-5.
The council also voted to override the mayor’s veto of an amendment that will add $1.5 million to the budget to fund the demolition or deconstruction of blighted homes in Milwaukee. Mayor Barrett could veto the one amendment that was made by Ald. Kovac at the meeting if he chooses to do so.