In a rare bipartisan effort this summer, the State Legislature passed sweeping reforms aimed at boosting the amount of state aid local communities can receive. Under the new system, municipalities expect to see more than a 20% increase in revenue from the state in the form of local sales taxes. Policymakers expect this measure will steer Milwaukee away from the brink of financial disaster in the near term.
The City of Milwaukee has already begun to feel the effects of the state’s shared revenue policy. Local sales tax from the bill allowed the city to see over $200 million in extra revenue in its 2024 budget. The funds, however, do not come without strings attached — Republicans mandate the city uses the new funds to hire more police and fire officers, among other requirements. Some Milwaukee alders have declared the bill, despite the financial aid it brings, is “micromanaging” and even “racist.”
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Yet even with the hundreds of millions of dollars in added revenue flow, the financial future of Milwaukee is far from certain. Experts predict as soon as 2025, the city may face another budget deficit of $20 to $50 million. The timely influx of funds from the shared revenue reform should not be seen as benevolence on the part of the Republican-dominated state legislature, but call to the attention of a system that disproportionately neglects the most economically-productive counties in the state, using their financial crises as political pawns instead.
Republicans’ willingness to cut Milwaukee a deal does not come without massive gains for their conservative constituents. Shared revenue reforms were one side of a quid pro quo that forced Gov. Tony Evers to agree to “substantially” increase funding for the state’s private school choice program — a policy long opposed by Evers.
Proponents of A Fair Deal for Milwaukee argue Milwaukee County is beyond due for a monumental change to its revenue relationship with the state government. Milwaukee County sends $500 million more to the state each year, yet the county’s collection from the shared revenue program has remained stagnant for decades. The financial exploitation is clear.Instead of complaining about Milwaukee’s crime rates while simultaneously allowing the county and city to cut essential services and starve financially, Wisconsin Republicans have an obligation to their taxpayers to funnel money back into communities who are owed it.
