Council Rewrites Mayor’s Budget, Setting Up Potential Veto Fight

Milwaukee City Hall. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff. The Milwaukee Common Council completed its overhaul of Mayor Cavalier Johnson s proposed 2027 budget Friday, approving a series of amendments that would increase pay for the city s lowest-paid workers, restore Sunday library hours, boost street repair funding and authorize a study of replacing We Energies with a publicly owned electric utility. The council also added funding for a new fire engine, traffic calming, neighborhood programs and an outside audit of the city s pothole and snow removal operations. The changes, spread across dozens of amendments considered over two lengthy meetings, reflect the council s competing priorities as it attempts to improve city services and employee compensation while confronting Milwaukee s longstanding financial challenges. Some of the most significant proposals were initially rejected during the Finance Personnel Committee s marathon amendment meeting Oct. 29, only to be revised and approved b