Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee officials consider refunding snow removal fees after 'frustration' at December storm response
Milwaukee alders are pushing the city to explore eliminating a city fee for snow removal after “widespread concerns” about snow removal failures during a recent snowstorm.
The fee paid by most Milwaukee residents has been in place for years, and the discussion by City Council members comes after resident complaints about how the city manages plowing.
“If we can’t handle four inches of snow now, what’s going to happen the rest of the winter?” Milwaukee Alder Peter Burgelis said.
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Milwaukee got around 4.5 inches of snow during a storm on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20. Burgelis said he believes many of the main roads in the city were properly plowed.
“But inside of neighborhoods, where people live, those streets, many were untreated altogether,” Burgelis said.
He said he heard similar complaints from other alders.
“It wasn’t just an isolated incident or isolated plowing or lack of plowing in a handful of neighborhoods in my district, but that was really seen citywide in all parts of Milwaukee,” he said.
A statement from Burgelis said residents reported “unsafe road conditions” throughout the city after the storm.
Milwaukee Alder Lamont Westmoreland also said he received numerous complaints from residents about the snow removal response from the Milwaukee Department of Public Works.
“Taxes can’t continue to go up, people can’t continue to shell out more dollars, and the services continue to be lackluster,” Westmoreland said.
The city’s snow and ice removal fee is $1.13 per foot of street frontage on a property. Residents are charged the fee annually, Burgelis said. If the city were to return that fee to residents, it would leave an $11.3 million gap in the city’s budget.
Burgelis did say the city likely doesn’t have the “capacity” to return all of that money to citizens.
“But if the city is charging for a service, there’s an expectation that residents get something for that fee,” he said.
On Wednesday, Milwaukee’s public works committee will discuss “evaluating mechanisms to provide a snowplow fee refund to some or all city residents,” Burgelis’ statement said. “It will also address potential improvements to ensure timely and effective leaf collection and snow removal in the future.”
Some of the problems of the December storm were exacerbated by late leaf pick-up.
Burgelis said the snow removal fee in Milwaukee began years ago when shared revenue from the state remained stagnant. However, the city now gets more money from the state due to Act 12, a bipartisan law that overhauled local government funding.
“And unfortunately, we’re still not getting the level of service that residents expect to get from DPW (Department of Public Works),” Burgelis said.
Burgelis said he was told only around half of the city’s 200 snow plows were used during the December storm. A spokesperson for the Milwaukee Department of Public Works said the commissioner was not available for an interview.
Prior press releases from the spokesperson said crews were out for hours following the storm.
“Crews are still out working to get the side streets cleaned up,” a Dec. 20 release said. “They are salting with brine and plowing curb to curb in the residential areas. We’re making sure our streets are in good shape as the temperatures drop tonight.”
But Westmoreland said the response wasn’t good enough. He said he heard similar concerns from residents last year after a snowstorm pounded the city in January 2023.
“And then here we are, almost a year later, and not one thing has changed,” Westmoreland said.
When asked about the refund on the snow plow fee, Westmoreland didn’t say he believed that idea was “realistic.”
“People don’t want a refund on snowplowing,” he said. “People want the job done right the first time.”
In an email, Jeff Fleming, a spokesperson for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said the mayor “thinks the Department of Public Works employees do very good work — often under remarkably tough conditions.”
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With the Bucks having 17 rostered players, cuts were going to have to happen at some point, and Pete Nance is the first casualty. Nance was always the most obvious player to cut because of his non-guaranteed $2.5m contract, which would have become guaranteed if they kept him past Saturday. Also, Milwaukee acquired a fair few guys who play his position via the Giannis trade (Ware, Jaquez, Ament). I should mention that this technically does not proclude the Bucks from signing the big man to another deal, but it feels unlikely, given the aforementioned lack of spots.
This is something of a kick in the guts for many fans, including myself, who really thought Milwaukee had found a diamond in the rough with Nance. The number of times we would remark on Deer Diaries about how he was “always in the right spots” and “did all the little things” was… pretty large! After coming to the Bucks late in the 2024-25 season, Nance had a breakout 2025-26 campaign (although his numbers certainly don’t jump off the page), averaging 5.4 PPG and 2.7 RPG on 51.5% from the field and 42.0% from three. Assuming it isn’t with the Bucks, let’s hope he lands somewhere that gives him a real shot.
MILWAUKEE — As Venezuela continues to recover from devastating earthquakes, support from Milwaukee’s “United for Venezuela Emergency Relief Campaign” is soon heading to the disaster-stricken country.
The basement of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church is filled to the brim with donations ticketed for Venezuela, the culmunation of a week of community generosity.
From food to clothing and toys, the outpouring has been remarkable said Father Norberto Sandoval, who is from Venezuela and serves as associate pastor of Blessed Sacrament.
“This [has been] overwhelming,” said Sandoval. “I mean, if you can see [the basement], you were able to get in on Monday. Now we [are not] able to walk.”
(Spectrum News 1/Blake Dietz)
Aura Escobar, who is also from Venezuela, has been doing whatever she can to help her home country, including packing donations. She described the support from friends, coworkers, and strangers as something special to witness.
“In my Venmo, I had three thousand dollars in less than 24 hours,” Escobar said. “And I was able to buy stuff to donate. It’s been amazing. It’s very heartwarming to have so many people that care about Venezuela.”
Due to limited storage capacity and the logistical planning required to transport the supplies to those who need them most, organizers have decided to stop accepting donations after Friday afternoon.
“We have more than a thousand boxes right now. We are expecting two semi-trucks either to move [Friday] in the afternoon or tomorrow,” Sandoval said.
(Spectrum News 1/Blake Dietz)
He acknowledged that corruption in times of trauma is a long-standing concern in Venezuela. For that reason, the trucks will take the local donations to Miami, where a Venezuelan organization he fully trusts will handle the final distribution.
“We have already the person and it’s going to be [done] free. It’s going to be directly to a group of religious groups in Venezuela. So, in that way people will get the donations,” he said.
Sandoval and other organizers are putting out one final plea for volunteers to help load the semi-trucks on Friday and Saturday.
Video circulating this week shows masked federal agents in Milwaukee arresting people. City leaders say the face coverings violate a city ordinance — but whether federal agents are required to follow local ordinances is a legal question that may ultimately be decided by a federal judge.
RELATED | Father with no criminal record detained by ICE on Milwaukee’s south side, family says
Local attorney Russell Jones said the answer depends on the specific ordinance and what federal authorities are doing.
“The issue becomes whether or not the local ordinances interfere with the operations of the federal officers acting under federal law. If it does, federal law will supersede it. Right, it’s the supremacy clause of the Constitution. If it doesn’t interfere with their operations, then typically they will follow those ordinances. So that’s really the question: do the ordinances interfere with the legitimate operations of the federal agency?” Jones explained.
For the past week, masked federal agents have been seen in Wisconsin arresting people they say are in the country illegally.
Watch: Do federal agents have to follow Milwaukee’s face covering and park ordinances?
Do federal agents have to follow Milwaukee’s face covering and park ordinances?
Galo Suarez described one encounter.
“They broke our side window, and they told us that if we didn’t comply, we would face several heavy consequences,” Suarez said.
Images have also surfaced of what appear to be federal agents in Milwaukee County parks.
Federal agents wearing masks and being in county parks, according to city and county leaders, are against local ordinances.
Milwaukee’s city ordinance prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings. A Milwaukee County ordinance prohibits any law enforcement agency from using a park as a staging area without a permit.
When asked whether a resolution to the legal question was possible now, Jones said it likely falls to the courts.
“That’s a question that eventually probably some federal judge will answer,” Jones said.
Before the city’s face covering ordinance was passed, City Attorney Evan Goyke wrote in a memo that “it is legal and enforceable.”
Enforcement of the ordinance would fall to Milwaukee Police, who earlier this week said they have “requested a formal written legal opinion from the city attorney’s office regarding the ordinance’s applicability and enforceability.” TMJ4 News reached out to Goyke on this and is waiting to hear back.
ICE has already stated it “will not abide by unconstitutional bans,” noting that “ICE officers wear face coverings for one reason: to protect themselves and their families from real-world threats including agitators.”
Jones said the practical challenge of enforcing a local ordinance against federal officers adds another layer of complexity.
“Enforcing a local ordinance right is typically done with an arrest or issuing a ticket, and certainly arresting ICE officers would interfere with their operations,” Jones added. “Ultimately, a federal judge will decide if these ordinances interfere with federal operations, and if they do, they will be superseded by federal law, and if they don’t, then ICE would likely have to follow them.”
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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