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.

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.”

Minneapolis leaders will meet Monday morning to review a tentative agreement on a federal consent decree.

The consent decree — a federal tool for oversight of police — will likely mandate extensive reforms to the Minneapolis Police Department. City officials have been working with the Department of Justice to reach an agreement since June 2023, when a federal investigation found patterns of racism and excessive force in MPD.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey last week scheduled Monday morning’s special city council meeting. The council, mayor and city attorney are expected to hold a closed-door briefing on the agreement, followed by a public vote. If approved, the agreement will be filed in federal court.

The Department of Justice opened its investigation in 2021 after the police murder of George Floyd the previous year. After extensive interviews with members of the community and department personnel, it concluded that MPD used dangerous techniques and weapons against people unnecessarily, and treated residents differently based on race. It also alleged the department mishandles complaints and accountability for officers.

The report recommended a revamp to use-of-force policies, training and reporting. Those are changes that could be mandated in a consent decree. 

Other consent decrees in cities including New Orleans, Seattle, Portland and Cleveland have mandated a variety of reforms, such as civilian oversight of police, altered use-of-force policies and new training on weapons use and engaging with people with mental illness.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has experience administering a consent decree. He came to Minneapolis from Newark, which has been under a consent decree since 2016. 

Addressing Minneapolis officers last week, O’Hara said he’ll remain committed to improving staffing levels and supporting officers’ safety and mental health, as the department prepares to take on the change likely required by a consent decree. 

“When we focus on the right priorities, supporting one another, engaging with our community and remaining committed to our shared values, we can and we will navigate this process successfully and emerge stronger,” O’Hara said.

The decree would remain in place until an independent monitor determines the city has met all the requirements — likely several years later.

If enacted, Minneapolis would be the first city in the nation under both federal and state consent decrees. A state-level settlement agreement was reached in 2023, after an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights also found a pattern of racism in the department. 

The department is approaching March deadlines under the state agreement. It will need to have new policies governing use of force, body camera use and interactions with minors. It’s also required to make substantial progress on a backlog of complaints against officers.

Advocates for a consent decree are hoping to see it finalized before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who opposed federal oversight of police departments during his first term in office.