The Milwaukee Post

Free Shopping Shuttle Free Friday Breakfast Miniature Golf Dart Baseball Wii Bowling Card Nights Bingo, Billiards Birthday of the Month Free Coffee Bar Storage Units Balcony, Deck or Patio Free Parking Washer & Dryer in Select Units Beauty Shop on-site Fitness Center 3 Elevators Cable Ready On-site Bank Fitness Center Brenwood Park Senior Apartments 9501 W. Loomis Rd., Franklin • 414-427-8499 Professionally Managed by Oakbrook Corporation www.Brenwood-park.com *Income Restrictions Apply 1 Bedroom $775 * 2 Bedroom $931 * HEAT & HOT WATER INCLUDED! Call to schedule your appointment or personal tour today! Pet Friendly 2 5 7 1 2 2 0 4 3 Zimmermann's Service 360 E. Howard Ave. 414-744-9868 With coupon. Expires 10/13/17. BRAKES most cars $ 89 95 per axle. DID YOU KNOW? • "The Walking Dead" held dinners for characters killed off the show. • More lasting marriages have been produced from "The Biggest Loser" than from "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" combined. – Source: sotruefacts.com MARK BELLING NFL players, owners show their true colors Page 8 They are the ones who are hateful and divisive MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL OPENS – PAGES 17, 18 OWEN ROBINSON Budget sausage made; now fry other fish Page 9 State should address crime, employee benefits, more MILWAUKEE COUNTY'S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 Local news at your fingertips Visit www.gmtoday.com By DAVE FIDLIN Special to the Post MILWAUKEE — "In my time as mayor, no city budget has pre- sented more challenges or more frustration than this one." Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett led off his official 2018 draft budg- et presentation this week with this dour statement. Cuts to police and fire services and a r a m p e d - u p call to enact a local sales tax were among some of the major points Barrett laid out this week as he delivered his operating plan for the year ahead. The draft document, which will be scrutinized and subject to amendment by aldermen in the weeks ahead, calls for a 3.7 per- cent increase in the property tax levy. Barrett, who has been Milwaukee's mayor since 2004, said this year's budget was the most difficult that he has had to assemble. The mayor attributed a confluence of factors, includ- ing declines in state shared rev- enue. "The budget I am presenting ... is not the budget I was hoping to introduce," Barrett said Tuesday as he gave his formal address to the Common Council. "But there's a big difference between hope and reality." Throughout his multiple may- oral terms, Barrett said he has worked to deliver budgets that strike a balance between munici- pal services and fiscal responsibil- ity. "For 13 years, we've cut and squeezed," he said. While he is seeking out reme- dies in future budgets, Barrett's 2018 operating plan calls for cuts Barrett budget plan calls for public safety cuts, 3.7% levy hike See BUDGET on Page 10 Mayor proposes closing six fire stations, leaving 75 firefighter jobs vacant Barrett

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