Highly challenging budget times have returned to Milwaukee County. A projected $47 million deficit for 2026 and revelation of a nearly $11 million mid-year 2025 budget hole for the transit system cast a tall shadow on budget preparations as they were initiated in the spring. Several new and expanded revenue sources adopted in the 2025-27 state budget alleviated the pressure considerably, but continued negative trends in public safety overtime and employee health care spending – coupled with new concerns about potential federal cuts — offset much of that relief.
The result was one of the most difficult recommended budgets in years, highlighted by significant route cuts and fare increases for transit riders and elimination of some valued behavioral health services. Fortunately, significant programmatic impacts were largely limited to those two areas. Still, the budget includes the largest property tax increase in at least two decades and a larger-than-normal withdrawal from reserves, signaling that the circumstances that have made 2026 a difficult budget year have not been resolved and that service reductions may need to extend to other county departments in future years.
The recommended capital improvement budget amplifies that point. It pumps nearly $16 million into the design of a revamped courthouse complex – which at nearly half a billion dollars will be the county’s most expensive capital project ever – while also finding more than $13 million for a new entranceway to the Milwaukee County Zoo, $5 million for the Mitchell Park Domes renovation, and healthy totals for parks, highways, and fleet. Yet a capital repair and replacement backlog estimated at more than $1 billion still grows, with more than $100 million in projects requested by departments pushed off for consideration until 2027.
Despite these concerns, there are also bright spots emanating from the 2026 proposal. Even with a recommended $9.8 million withdrawal from the Debt Service Reserve, a very healthy balance should remain for use in future years. Meanwhile, sales tax and state shared revenues show modest growth, suggesting fulfillment of the promise for continued revenue growth posed by Wisconsin Act 12, the 2023 state law that authorized an expanded county sales tax, enhanced state shared revenue aid, and critical pension reforms. Parks department revenues also continue to rise from greater use of golf courses and other amenities, staving off service reductions despite a reduced property tax allocation.
In the pages that follow, we highlight these and other encouraging and troublesome elements from the 2026 recommended budget, including key decisions made to balance the budget and what those decisions convey for future years. Our goal is to provide county policymakers and the public with impartial analysis and perspective that will inform budget deliberations this year and provide additional insight into the scope of the county’s future challenges. Continue reading…