AART Releases Statement on Mayoral Preliminary Budget Hearing

As the mayor continues to talk about Milwaukee’s financial problems meaning less services for residents, he fails to mention the pension report we released last year with sensible solutions. Instead the mayor left residents with unanswered questions, a faulty process and no solutions.

Residents were loud and clear last night that they are fed up with Milwaukee police receiving such a large percentage of the city’s budget. Milwaukee only has one option, which is to listen to the will of the people and defund the Milwaukee Police Department.

Currently there are four open seats on the Common Council, which means more than 160,000 people are left without representation throughout this budget process. Now is the time for Milwaukee to create participatory budgeting to ensure that residents can make decisions on how resources are spent.

We ask that all residents join us in our fight to defund the Milwaukee Police Department and invest in neighborhoods, housing, mental health services and support participatory budgeting.