'Absolutely not enough': Milwaukee Fire Department gets less than a quarter of budget requested, mayor vetoes lines of 2026 budget
MILWAUKEE (CBS58) -- As the Milwaukee Fire Department looks to get out of that hole, with their dying fleet, Mayor Cavalier Johnson is offering them less than a quarter of what they asked for in the 2026 budget. It was one of several vetoes to Milwaukee Common Council's roughly $2 billion budget. Other vetoes from the mayor included an additional base pay increase to the salaries of city employees who reside in Milwaukee, changes to the library proposal adding Sunday hours to the library, and the removal of a staff position in the DOA's Innovation office.
The most notable and surprising veto, according to Alderman Peter Burgelis, vice-chair of the city's finance committee, is for the Milwaukee Fire Department. Mayor Cavalier Johnson had originally allotted $2 million to MFD. However, the department had asked for $30 million over two years in order to replace outdated and nonfunctional trucks. Chief Lipski said 11 of 44 engines are currently out of service, and three ladder trucks recently failed a test, making them unsafe for firefighters. He shared that he asked for the exact amount necessary to replenish their supply to serve our community.
"It's absolutely not enough. I've been brazenly clear on this. This point. We ask for what we need. We asked for what we need." - MFD Chief Aaron Lipski
The Common Council amended the Mayor's budget, adding $4 million to the $2 million already existent, and taking $4 million from a Municipal Services building from DPW to MFD. That would give the Fire Department a total of $10 million. Ald. Burgelis said the building already has $9.7 million "in seed funding" that's gone unused, since a plan has not been fully fleshed out. So, he thinks that money is better utilized in the present, replacing trucks that are already out of commission. Chief Lipski said it's a "sticky spot" to take money from one department to pay another, knowing how difficult it is to make it work with limited resources.
"If I'm not going to be able to increase the chunk on the newer end of the fleet. I mean, it's just math. The average is going to be horrible, and the bigger, the older chunk gets, the less safe it gets," said Chief Lipski about not getting the funding they asked for.
Trucks shouldn't be more than 15 years old, according to the National Fire Protection Association. But in Milwaukee, nearly half of their engines are past that.
"The provision of safe vehicles and emergency response vehicles, and equipment to our firefighters who put their lives on the line for Milwaukee. That's not avoidable. We have to provide them with good equipment," shared Chief Lipski.
Milwaukee is currently borrowing trucks from neighboring cities as its reserve fleet has dwindled and needs repairs.
Ald. Burgelis said the Common Council has been listening to their constituents, and that's what drove their decisions.
"Budgets are community value statements. What is important to us and what's important to me is that we ensure we have basic city services and people who put their lives on the line for us every day, have equipment that doesn't fall apart," said Burgelis.
Compromising is what Mayor Johnson said he's been doing with his budget vetoes, as "there's only so much money to go around and that's the consequence of a city budget." In his veto letter, Mayor Johnson said, "I am proposing a compromise to provide a historic level of support for the Fire Department while simultaneously recognizing other city needs."
"Perhaps the most important question for this item, and all the changes to my proposed budget, is this one: are the changes sustainable?" - Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson
"You say the word sustainable. That's not sustainable, that's not sustainable," commented Chief Lipski.
The tax rate would decrease by 65 cents the last budget while the levy total will be $336,820,871. That's a 3.9% increase from 2025. All sides say, they're keeping the taxpayer in mind.
"These are all huge numbers, and that burden falls on the taxpayers, and that's, I take that matter very, very seriously, but those same taxpayers are expecting me to be able to respond when they call," said Chief Lipski.
The mayor questioned council additions to the budget, pointing out funding going to events like the Big Clean and Hip-Hop Week, saying they are "illogical when there are hundreds-of-thousands of dollars available in unused money from previous years."
Council additions, per Mayor Johnson, are seven times as large as the past two years combined. Alderman Burgelis said that's due in part to the amendment for the Fire Department, considering that's the largest amendment the common council has ever passed.
The chief emphasized he has no ill will towards the mayor or common council, but he has to advocate for his firefighters and their safety when responding to our calls.
The budget now goes back to the council, which will vote Nov. 25 on a possible override.