Contact: Jodie Tabak 414-286-8504

Mayor Tom Barrett released the following statement regarding today’s comments about his proposed budget:

“The budget I introduced is not the budget I was hoping to put forward. I understand that people are not happy with the proposed cuts. I’m not.

“I said yesterday that there is a big difference between hope and reality and the reality is that we are not getting any additional state shared revenues, we have an $80 million employer pension obligation mainly for police and fire, and because of the lack of increases in state shared revenue there is too much pressure on the property tax.

“I would ask the critics to step up and take a long hard look at the City’s revenue structure. We are, as the Milwaukee Public Policy Forum has stated, “between a rock and a hard place.”
There is no question that in order to address our current and future public safety needs the City must have a new source of revenue.

“Make your voices heard in Madison. Ask the legislature and the Governor to let Milwaukee voters decide whether or not to enact a half-cent public safety sales tax. The citizens of Milwaukee should have their voices heard.”

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