“We’re going to contact the state and see if there’s a possibility that we can get more state resources for police protection at UWM.” – Mayor Tom Barrett

Milwaukee citizens and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students could have increased police coverage if the city’s common council approves Mayor Tom Barrett’s 2007 budget.

It is all part of a plan to make Milwaukee “a safer and economically stronger city,” Barrett said in his opening comments during his budget proposal Sept. 26.

One provision includes a $5 million increase in the Milwaukee Police Department budget, bringing it to $214 million. The additional money would put 50 additional police officers on the streets of Milwaukee, raising the force to its strongest since 2000, Barrett said.

“From cops to cameras to continuing our crackdowns on cruising and curfew, I want to employ every available strategy to make Milwaukee neighborhoods safer,” Barrett said.

Third District Alderman Michael D’Amato, whose jurisdiction includes UWM, said he disagreed with the mayor’s approach to city crime.

“I can’t say I’m as excited about just continuing to add police and thinking that’s going to solve crime,” D’Amato said. “We have a serious crime problem that needs to be addressed in a multi-faceted way, and by spending …. on new cops I’m not sure we really get to the heart of the matter.”

Barrett said plans to bring more police coverage to the UWM campus area are also in the works.

“We’re going to contact the state and see if there’s a possibility that we can get more state resources for police protection at UWM,” Barrett said.

He added that UWM students would be less affected by the city budget than by possible cuts in the 2007-’08 Milwaukee County budget.

“I would say for UWM students, probably the bigger concern, quite candidly, is the county budget and the impact on transportation costs for students who ride busses to UWM,” Barrett said.

Barrett’s address also focused heavily on public health, including the announcement of a $500,000 investment from Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital to partner with city officials to help reduce Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate by studying at-risk mothers.

“I’m very happy about the health initiatives regarding infant mortality,” D’Amato said. “It’s a real problem in this city and it’s about time that we begin to take it seriously.”

D’Amato also said he thought the proposed Driver’s License Repair Program was a key feature in the budget. This $200,000 program would assist would-be drivers in reinstating their licenses so they could drive to work

“I think that the initiative with the Driver’s License Repair Program through municipal court is important to getting people to jobs — working — and not sending them to jail for foolish driver’s license issues,” D’Amato said. “Our jails are filled with people who are there for driving mistakes, and we need to just stop that cycle.”

Barrett said if approved, his 2007 budget would increase the city’s operating costs by 2.7 percent.

The additional costs would come from a 3.3 percent increase in property taxes and budget cuts to other areas, Barrett said.

Public library funding would be decreased 4.7 percent, or about $1.1 million, from the 2006 budget, said Eileen Force, communications director for the mayor’s office. This cut would primarily cause cutbacks in funding for library materials and the elimination of three vacant positions.

In his speech, Barrett made no mention of budget cuts to the city library system, which he said is an “important neighborhood quality-of-life program.”

“I assure you that our 2007 budget includes enough resources to keep all our neighborhood libraries open with no reduction to their service hours,” Barrett said.

The fire department will also experience cuts in half its 16 ladder companies by not replacing employees that leave, Force said. These companies would then have four instead of five firemen each, which is recommended by the National Association of Fire Fighters and is the norm around the country. This proposal had been included in the 2006 budget but was removed after much debate.

“My hope is that the council will examine it very, very carefully,” Barrett said. “It always helps to have a second set of eyes to look at things to make sure we’re doing it correctly. But I’m confident we’ve got a very solid budget.”

The common council will discuss the budget throughout the month of October, debating amendments to the budget on Nov. 2 and 3, Force said. The council will vote on the budget on Nov. 10.

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