audio version of the segment here > It's not the State's fault if city government can't budget properly
Jay Weber Show transcript 10-23-25
If you missed the start of the show on Monday? Or Tuesday? -
You missed my commentary on the Milwaukee Fire Department’s terrible budget and equipment crisis.The short version of the story is:Milwaukee mayors and councilmen have been neglecting the fire department to such an extreme that ‘virtually none’ of the fire trucks they are using should be on the street, anymore. Nearly all of them are either – ‘past-their retirement date’....’well past’ their retirement date...or ‘nearing’ their retirement date.
We have a Milwaukee Fire Department that uses major equipment that is well past it decommission date. And the problem has hit such an extreme that the fire chief is calling this a ‘crisis situation’.
My take was: there’s something important that isn’t being said, acknowledged, or even talked about- related to this story.
This story-reeks- of the symptoms of city leadership with misplaced priorities -over decades.
And I said: we should be blasting the mayorships of Tom Barrett and John Norquist and Chevy Johnson, collectively. But given the era of ‘fire truck’ that needs to be replaced- most of the blame should fall on Tom Barrett and his idiotic budgeting and spending over his time in office.
He and the city leaders of ‘his era’ were really the ones who blew apart the city’s budget-or any sense that they should prioritize the basic functions of government over all sorts of spending onleft-wing social nonsense and borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars for tiff districts and trolleys and all sorts of other excessive spending- before they took care of the basics.
The primary intent of the segment was to remind people that the reason that ‘city government exists’ is because any community – any collection of people- needs police to keep the peace, the fire department to put out fires, the sanitation department to pick up the garbage and plow the streets, and a DPW to keep the streets functional.
That’s it. That’s why local government exists. I don’t care if you go back to Jamestown or Williamsburg’s founding: we need a group of people to keep the peace...organize response to fires.... come around and collect the garbage. etc.
These are the ‘essential services’ of any community-and everything else – aside from schools- is essentially ‘extraneous.
This was my topic that morning: I asked: how did the city of Milwaukee find itself in a situation in which nearly every vehicle and important piece of equipment that the fire department needs is either ‘nearing’ or ‘over’ it’s recommended shelf life?
There was no ‘planned replacement schedule’? There was no money set aside every few years to ‘buy a new firetruck’ to keep up, etc.?
That is an infuriating lack of planning and prioritizing by any community’s leaders.
Tom Barrett and our other Milwaukee mayors completely bleeped up spending priorities and borrowing and budgeting if they were neglecting police, fire, sanitation and streets to this degree. And Barrett was. Chevy Johnson clearly still is.
Consider that the city of Milwaukee has a two-billion-dollar yearly budget. City leaders spend. Two. Billion. Dollars a year. On government.
And they can’t find a few million each year to set aside for something as important as ‘a new fire truck, occasionally’? Come on.
That was the segment: Greg posted it on social media...and it took off. Got a lot of attention over two days.
Until yesterday, when Dan Schafer, one of the liberal pundits in Milwaukee responded to it on x.
Schafer is someone i would label ‘one of the good’ liberals. He’s not extreme. He’s not a bomb thrower. He tries to engage in a logical argument. He’s not overreacting to everything.
What is his blog? The recombobulation area?
And so- I have nothing against Dan Schafer. I think he’s got some good broadcasting skills and could be a -very rare-very good’ talk show host.
But his reaction to my piece is simply ‘invalid’. It’s diversion and excuse making.
Shafer’s response was perfect example of misplaced blame. The state underfunded local government, including in Milwaukee, for a generation under republican leadership. Look at any local government around the state and you'll find struggles to fund key city services. The problem is upstream.
No, it’s not.The problem is ‘priorities. Municipalities take in their own taxes. They have property taxes and sales taxes and other fees and taxes that they levy- aside from whatever ‘state funding’ they receive.
This isn’t about state funding: this is about using the city’s tax revenue to fund police, fire, sanitation, and streets first. Priority. Those are the vital services. The necessary services. The reason is the local government exists.
Everything else-aside from schools-which have their own budget and their own tax levy-
Everything else in city government is ‘extraneous’. And I’m saying ‘everything’. If you want to take it to extremes.
I’m saying-in times of lower revenue or budget cuts-you fund those four things-first- and then choose how to spend whatever’s left.
This is my point. Dan Schafer, clearly, just wanted to have a debate over state revenue. Because his next response was:
If Milwaukee and Brookfield are facing the same problems and both are saying it's because of the way the state funds local government, why would the conclusion be to blame Milwaukee and only Milwaukee?
I wasn’t blaming ‘only Milwaukee’. I was talking about Milwaukee because I was reacting to a j/s story and a week-long issue related to the Milwaukee fire department.
Why only talk about Milwaukee? Because it was a ‘Milwaukee specific story’. The fire chief has been talking about his equipment crisis.
Is Brookfield’s chief talking about his ancient fire trucks and how they need replacement?
If he or she is- I’m not are of it.
So that was my response back to Dan: because the story was about the MFD budget, not Brookfield’s. I didn't realize Brookfield was screwing it up and then blaming state funding, too.
And i want to be clear: i don’t know if Brookfield’s leaders are moaning about having no money for fire trucks, or police, or whatever due to a lack of state funding-
But if they are- my message to them would be the same: prioritize essential services.
The locals set the budgets. They need to prioritize. Spend your locally generated tax money on essential services first-and you won’t have to worry about how much state funding you’re going to get.
As i asked dan: do you budget family priorities?
And he didn’t answer. His next response was:
It's a story in Brookfield, it's a story in new berlin, it's a story everywhere at the local level for municipalities and counties across Wisconsin. Red areas and blue areas are all singing the same tune. That should tell you something.
But he’s talking about ‘needing more state funding’. He’s not talking about needing new fire trucks because the city’s current ones are so old and the fire department budget has been neglected.
That! Is what I was talking about. And blaming the state lawmakers or lack of state funding is-ultimately- a dodge.
For this reason: let me put a bow around this-
Municipalities have their own methods of taxation. They set their own budget priorities. And so, I don’t care if they have a ten-thousand-dollar city budget or a ten-million-dollar city budget. Prioritize. Essential services first.
Police, fire, sanitation and DPW. Period.
Everything else is ‘cuttable’ in any city budget-depending on how dire things get.
We conservatives are in favor of ‘small government’.... not ‘no government’.... And that means we reject the notion that ‘we need money’ for this thing, or that thing, or this program...etc.
Our answer to that is: you can only spend money on that if you ‘have it’ and can ‘afford it’.
I reject all sentiments like this:
But we need money for a dog park.
No. You don’t. Fundraise privately.
But we need funding for a city work training program. No, you don’t.
But we need funding for mommy’s and toddlers’ program...no. You don’t.
But we need money to expand the library...no. you don’t.
But we need money for the red arrow ice skating rink. Nope.
All of that might be nice. But isn’t necessary.
And i’ll take it to the ultimate extreme
But...but... We need to fund the health department, too.
No. You don’t.Not if you are making hard decisions in a time of tight budgets. Is it one of the four essential items? No?
Then- the health department needs to take a hit this year...etc.
Even things that strike all of us as ‘good government’... And ‘good ideas’...should only strike is as ‘good government...if we can afford it....and then sustain it easily...over time.
But...we need a downtown trolley...
What a stupid-ass idea that was.
But...but...we’ll get millions from the federal government to build it.
Yep. And then you have multi-million dollars.... continuing, yearly, never-ending... Suck on the city budget. We did not need-and still do not need. The trolley.
This is my exact point to Dan Shafer and every listener and lawmaker who still doesn’t get it.I might offend you by saying ‘most of Milwaukee’s city government and city funded programs aren’t essential. But they’re not.
And I’m not saying most of them aren’t ‘good ideas. Or aren’t helpful. But I will say most of them really are not the role of local government.
What is essential local government? Police, fire, sanitation, schools and streets. That’s it.
But but...we have a cute...leapfrog for down syndrome kids at the library that only needs a thousand dollars.
You can make it as adorable or emotional as you’d like.... but ultimately?
Sorry. No. Fire Trucks come first.
photo credit: Fox 6 News/Milwaukee