Sunday library hours, more street repairs proposed in Milwaukee budget amendment
An amendment to Mayor Cavalier Johnson's budget by Common Council leaders would add Sunday library hours, fund more street repairs, launch a preventative lead abatement loan program and open two more early voting locations.
The theme of the amendment is creating "safe spaces throughout Milwaukee," said Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, who chairs the powerful Finance and Personnel Committee and is lead sponsor on the amendment along with Common Council President José G. Pérez.
Nine of the 15 council members have signed on to sponsor the amendment, they said.
The amendment and others put forward by council members will be taken up and voted on by the Finance and Personnel Committee on Thursday.
The council's budget adoption, including votes on any amendments, is scheduled for Nov. 3.
Johnson's spokesman Jeff Fleming said the mayor and council leaders have discussed the initiatives in the amendment.
"His initial reaction is positive, as these amendments build on proposals he included in his proposed 2024 budget," Fleming said. "He looks forward to reviewing the entire proposal once the council completes its work."
Among the top initiatives in the amendment are:
Sunday library hours could begin in March
In a further shift for the city's libraries — which narrowly averted cuts just a year ago — the amendment would add Sunday hours at three locations, ideally starting March 1.
The Central Library, 814 W. Wisconsin Ave., would be opened along with one yet-to-be determined branch on each the city's north side and south side, Dimitrijevic said.
She anticipated the three locations would be open for four or five hours on Sunday, though the specific times would be up to Milwaukee Public Library leadership and the Library Board, she said.
The pilot effort is budgeted for $750,000.
Street repairs, improvements would see boost in funding
Many council members wanted to increase the funding for street repair and repaving in addition to street changes that curtail reckless driving, Pérez said.
The amendment would put aside:
$750,000 for high-impact paving that involves surface repairs to extend the life of a road.
$500,000 for traffic-calming projects.
$250,000 for bicycle infrastructure.
"We took some of the mayor's initiatives and increased them, due to resident feedback and alder feedback," Dimitrijevic said.
Johnson in his budget proposed spending about $16 million in 2024 on high-impact paving and local road reconstruction as opposed to the $14 million or $15 million spent in previous years.
Lead abatement program would aim to prevent childhood poisoning
The amendment would also set aside $750,000 for a program meant to help prevent lead poisoning in Milwaukee children instead of addressing lead hazards only once a child has been poisoned.
The revolving loan fund would help owners and landlords abate lead paint, a serious hazard for small children living in older homes that are more likely to contain lead-based paint.
Making a home lead-safe can cost tens of thousands of dollars, creating a financial barrier for individual owners to proactively remove the toxin, Dimitrijevic said.
Pérez said the aim would be to create a process that makes abating properties as smooth as possible.
There is no safe level of lead exposure in children, and the effects are more harmful for those younger than 6 years because their bodies are still growing and developing, according to health officials. Young children are also more likely to put their hands on objects contaminated with lead dust and into their mouths, exposing them to greater amounts of the toxic metal.
In Milwaukee, a Journal Sentinel analysis of state Department of Health Services data showed that the highest childhood lead exposure rates were concentrated in census tracts that were predominantly Black, had older housing stock and had a higher rate of building code violations — a proxy for substandard housing.
Funding for housing authority inspectors after concerns arise
Two inspectors would be funded specifically to focus on complaints at Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee properties after residents and activists raised concerns about health and safety inside the residences.
The council unanimously approved legislation in recent weeks giving the city's Department of Neighborhood Services the authority to inspect properties and enforce building and zoning codes at buildings the housing authority owns or manages. Johnson signed the legislation, according to city records.
The two new positions would cost about $118,000. Three more could potentially be added if there is a need and if there are sufficient re-inspection fees from housing authority properties to support those positions.
College campus early voting locations in April election
In response to calls in public budget hearings, the amendment includes $10,000 for early voting sites at Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in the April 2 election.
The city's Election Commission already plans to have those two sites open for the November 2024 presidential election.
"A lot of people view spring of '24 as a run-up for the big show in fall of '24," Dimitrijevic said. "There was that specific request that came to both public hearings ... and we thought that was something that could be invested in."
How would this amendment be paid for?
The amendment largely pulls from existing funds within the budget, including the City Attorney's Office damages and claims account and what's been dubbed the "One Milwaukee Citizen-Led Transformational Grants Fund."
It also decreases Police Department squad car funding by $1 million and instead borrows for those vehicles.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee budget amendment boosts library hours, street repairs
