Milwaukee Mayor's Budget Cuts Police and Fire

The Mayor of Milwaukee says that his budget may force the cutting of up to 84 Police Officers and 75 firefighters.  He says that it is due to Pension Payments for retirees.  He also is blaming the State for not giving him more money to help cover these costs.

The city is in the middle of a major crime growth, and the Mayor is cutting Officers?

He said the budget request was $26.9 million dollars higher than the request for 2017.   The Police Department appears to be looking at a cut of $7.3 million. 

Wonder if the $128 million that the Mayor is spending on the 2.5 mile street car would have helped plug this shortfall?  Also, what about the $3.2 million being set aside annually to pay for upkeep and maintenance of the street car?  Those budgets don't seem to be taking a hit.  So the Mayor is cutting Public Safety to save his street car?

It is time for a leadership change in the City of Milwaukee.  Milwaukee has seen a growth in building, lots of High End Condos, however the population has declined.  Crime has to be a major contributor to that.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - 

The City of Milwaukee's population declined by 4,366 people from 2015 to 2016, erasing much of the slow but steady gains the city experienced since 2010, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.  

For the first part of the decade, the city saw slight annual population increases, growing from 595,188 in 2010 to 600,178 in 2014. Starting with the 2015 population estimates, Milwaukee's numbers started declining, falling by about 1% to 595,047 in 2016.

"I will review Milwaukee’s population estimates and those of other large cities, including Midwestern cities, keeping in mind these estimates are sometimes unreliable," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wrote in a statement, saying also that the 2016 estimate is still higher than the 2010 April census count of 594,833.