Proposed areas for cuts include election operations and civic engagement, library hours, sanitation and street maintenance.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson is seeking input from city residents as his office works to close the $96 million dollar gap. The city has posted a survey asking residents to make difficult decisions about where spending should be cut and what services should be protected.
If you are a city of Milwaukee resident, make your opinions known by completing the survey here.
Public listening sessions on the budget have been scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 30, with information also available here.
Fire and police could see cuts, but trimming in those areas is not always legal. Any cuts to policing or fire and emergency medical response must come from unsworn staff and equipment purchases under state law.
Under the Wisconsin Legislature’s 2023 shared-revenue legislation, known as Act 12, Milwaukee’s police and fire departments must maintain their 2023 numbers and grow both forces by 2034.
While Milwaukee’s whole budget is closer to $2 billion, only $685 million of that amount is subject to some discretion according to a video released by the mayor in support of the survey. “That’s what funds our roads, libraries, health services, public works, fire and police,” says Johnson.
Johnson says other portions are self-supporting, restricted, or allocated for specific debt and pension obligations.
For 2026, nearly half the discretionary amount went to MPD, with an allocation totaling more than $310 million, just shy of the department’s $313 million request.
While the 2027 budget won’t be finalized until October, MPD and all other city departments made their respective requests in May.
MPD is now asking for an unprecedented $345,822,092.
Some of that increase is nonnegotiable, and not just because the force can’t shrink.
Last year, the Milwaukee Common Council voted 10-1 on a new contract with the officers’ unions—the Milwaukee Police Association and Milwaukee Police Supervisors Association. Long-stalled negotiations meant the Milwaukee Police Association’s four-year deal was retroactive and will again expire in December. The supervisors’ agreement, covering Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and other top brass, expires in December 2027.
Alders Marina Dimitrijevic, Milele Coggs, JoCasta Zamarripa, and Sharlen Moore abstained from the contract vote. At a November 25, 2025 Common Council meeting, the abstaining alders warned of potential budget constraints, as the contract effectively gave a 15% pay increase across the board, with some top brass receiving a more than 25% bump in pay.
A Legislative Reference Bureau memo estimated the new contract would cost the city $51 million in additional pay and pension costs alone and did not account for the 5% increase in sworn officers required by Act 12, who have not been hired yet.
The new contract also put Norman among the highest paid city employees. His salary exceeds that of the mayor, municipal judges, and city attorney.
Past budgets show that Norman’s pay has grown significantly since 2023, when his salary was $147,336. That number jumped to $151,785 in 2024, and $182,927 in 2025. Under the new contract, Norman was paid $243,000 in 2026, and he will receive $250,290 in 2027.
The budget for the mayor’s salary in 2026 is $169,437.