Milwaukee mayor’s $1.9B budget proposal has infrastructure boost

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Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s $1.9 billion city budget proposal for 2024 includes millions of dollars for capital projects, including resurfacing cracked city streets and demolishing abandoned property.

Johnson on Sept. 19 proposed the 2024 budget to the Milwaukee Common Council, touting the fact this was the first proposal in decades without annual budget cuts to services such as police, fire and libraries – after officials expressed concern about losses in all three areas due to the city’s fiscal challenges. The mayor credited this to Act 12, the revenue overhaul for all Wisconsin municipalities signed by Gov. Tony Evers in June.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue expects the sales tax to create $190.1 million in revenue next year, city officials said in the budget forward. Around $184 million is expected for use in the 2024 budget. Another $21.7 million is available through the 10% increase in shared revenue. The budget will have $205.7 million of new revenue from these increases, city officials added.

Here’s what’s proposed in the budget for construction.

Core infrastructure, streets and bridges

The city would have a total of $79.8 million ready next year for core infrastructure work, including repaving streets, improving bridges, street lighting and sewers. That’s up 5% compared to the 2023 budget.

The city maintains 286 miles of major and minor arterials as part of the major streets program, which the budget would allocate $61.4 million to maintain. Those arterials are part of the Federal Aid Transportation system and are eligible for funding from the federal, state and county level. The city would pay $17.9 million for major streets next year, which is $2.3 million or 11% less decrease in city funding.

The city maintains 987 miles of local streets which have to be resurfaced and reconstructed. A total of $9 million will be set aside for local streets, which aren’t eligible for state or federal funding, according to the 2024 budget proposal. That breaks down into $7 million from levy-supported borrowing, a $1 million cash levy and another $1 million from special assessments from property owners.

The city also has a high impact streets program which covers curb-to-curb asphalt resurfacing typically for high traffic streets. The 2024 budget includes $9 million, and $8 million is from borrowing and the remaining $1 million is a cash levy. The city expects to improve 13 miles in 2024. In total, the city’s street network covers 1,273 miles, including highways and local roads.

Milwaukee earmarked $25.6 million for major bridges and $5.6 million in capital funding for local bridges. Another $850,000 in new borrowing and $450,000 of authority funding will go to rebuilding 10-12 alley reconstruction projects.

The 2024 street lighting program includes $15.9 million in capital funding, which is a $4.3 million increase from the 2023 budget, the proposal showed. A total of $6.1 million is included for paving-related improvements. The Department of Public Works (DPW) will replace outdated lamps with LED lamps and resilient circuitry after paving projects. The city operates nearly 77,000 street lights.

Another $3 million will be allocated for labor and material costs to restore streetlights and traffic poles that are knocked down by reckless drivers.

Sidewalks and bike infrastructure

Part of the mayor’s goal to make Milwaukee more bike friendly, the 2024 budget will have items for bicycles and sidewalks. Here’s how the proposed funding breaks down.

• $1.4 million to develop and enhance bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
• $1.9 million to replace or repair defective or unsafe sidewalks
• $500,000 to improve the existing bike lane and bike trail network

Milwaukee will raze 180 abandoned residential and commercial properties

The mayor’s 2024 budget includes $3.06 million to demolish around 180 residential and commercial properties that have been abandoned. In July, the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) reported a backlog of 328 raze orders for vacant structures. According to state law, the city can issue a raze order if the cost to repair a building back to code compliance is 50% more than its assessed value.

Conversely, the city will offer $1 million in capital funds through the Compliance Loan Program, which will give money to homeowners rather than fines and fees to keep owners in their homes. In 2022, the city issued 51 loans worth up to $664,063. DNS plans to award 54 loans in 2024.

The proposal to demolish 180 structures drew criticism from both residents and city officials. Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents the 4th District, said in a statement that demolition would contradict the city’s Climate and Equity Plan by sending salvageable building materials to landfills.

“Over the last 40 years, the city has become proficient at creating vacant lots. We need to think outside the box and convert blighted properties into affordable housing or reuse the building materials for new construction thereby advancing our climate and equity goals,” Bauman added.

The Finance and Personnel Committee will host multiple budget hearings at City Hall at the end of October. The committee was expected to host its first hearing on Friday.