Milwaukeeans voice anger and frustration with city leaders, state lawmakers on eve of historic sales tax vote

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- One night before the Milwaukee Common Council votes on whether to enact a new 2% city sales tax, people who live and work in Wisconsin's biggest city had one last chance to share their thoughts.

The council will vote Tuesday on whether to adopt the municipal sales tax, which was made possible through a bipartisan shared revenue deal that boosted state aid for all local governments.

Of the 15 alders, 10 must vote for the sales tax for it to be enacted. The growing list of yes votes now includes 5^th District Alderman Lamont Westmoreland, who announced his intended vote at a town hall Monday night in his north side district.

But that upset a lot of people in the audience who want the Common Council to reject the tax largely for two reasons: they don't want to pay more money, and they feel it's Milwaukee's acceptance of years of abuse from lawmakers in Madison.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue hangs in the balance. The city's budget director, Nik Kovac, estimated the tax would generate about $190 million per year.

Though city residents do not have a vote in the matter, several high-profile city leaders attended Westmoreland's meeting to make the final pitch, including Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Police Chief Jeffrey Norman.

Fire Chief Aaron Lipski told the roughly 60 people in attendance, "We can die on principle, or we can keep our head above water and fight another day."

He then asked rhetorically, "Is anyone happy with the state of Milwaukee right now?" Several in the crowd shouted back, "No!"

Lipski and others pushing for the tax warned it will only get worse if the vote fails.

Mayor Johnson said, "Without additional revenue, we face draconian cuts to the services we provide to Milwaukee."

The mayor's office estimates the 2% sales tax would generate $190 million every year.

Kovac said Monday of the city's $183 million-and-growing budget gap, "It's an entirely different world with the sales tax revenue."

For working-class families, it would cost an additional $230 annually, while median-income families would pay an additional $365 per year.

It's been a tough sell for several alders, including Westmoreland, who was booed Monday when he said he intended to vote for the tax.

One woman, a small business owner, told the assembled city leaders, "If this goes through tomorrow, and I'm assuming it will, I will have to tell people that by the way, my prices have gone up."

Many people oppose it on principle because of the restrictions that are placed on Milwaukee whether the tax passes or not.

State Sen. Lena Taylor of Milwaukee is one of them. At Monday's meeting, she told the crowd, "With all due respect, I don't think this deal is a good one."

Without the tax revenue, a projected 700 police officers, 250 firefighters, and 400 city employees will be laid off in 2025.

Kovac said, "Certainly, it would be devastating. Routine emergency city services would be unrecognizable."

But cutting police is exactly what many people want.

One activist said at the meeting, "We don't need more police officers, and we don't need them in our schools."

Others support the tax even if they don't like it.

One man said, "When you're drowning and someone throws you a life preserver, and you don't like the person and throw away the life preserver, that's ridiculous."

In order for the tax to pass, 10 of the council's 15 alders must vote yes. That benchmark was part of a compromise between city and county officials, Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Tony Evers, which put the sales tax vote in the hands of elected officials, instead of having a public referendum.

As of Monday evening, five alders had publicly said they will vote yes Tuesday: Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, Ald. Michael Murphy, Council President Jose Perez and Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa.

Brostoff said on Twitter Monday, he was "voting to save our city." He has made clear in previous interviews he supported the sales tax.

Tomorrow is a most important vote. A vote on whether to save the city or kill it. Whether to bring in 200 million dollars a year for services or to make a 200 million dollar cut.

I will be voting to save our city.

If we get 10 votes or more it will pass. If we do not…

— Jonathan Brostoff ➡️ CUBECON (@Jbrostoff) July 10, 2023

Ald. Scott Spiker and Ald. Mark Borkowski voted yes when the tax ordinance at the committee level last month, but they haven't vowed to give their support on the final vote. Spiker said he wanted to hear from constituents at Monday's hearing in his district.

Zamarripa said the city couldn't afford to weaken its public safety response while also reducing services across the board.

"Quality of life services," Zamarripa said. "Like garbage pickup, snow plowing in the winter, pothole patching."

Ald. Lamont Westmoreland is one of seven alders who signed a statement on June 9 calling the agreement that allowed the tax "overreaching, micromanaging, and frankly, racist."

Several progressive groups have also blasted the agreement, saying the conditions make the tax untenable.

Republicans placed several conditions on Milwaukee in exchange for the sales tax, including requirements Milwaukee Public Schools brings back resource officers, stripping the Fire and Police Commission of its power to set police department policy and banning the city from spending tax dollars on the streetcar and positions dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Westmoreland said he stood by the complaint but added that didn't mean he would vote against the tax.

"If somebody's voting for this, that doesn't mean they're voting for all this bad stuff," Westmoreland said. "That we talked about in that statement."

When asked if there were 10 yes votes, Westmoreland said he didn't know, but added there were both "hard nos and hard yeses."

"I've got a feeling," Westmoreland said. "I think it'll be close. I think it'll be close."