Judiciary & Legislation Committee - Regular Meeting

Good morning. I am Alderman DeAndre Jackson, the 7th District. To my right, I'm joined by Alderman Bob Bowman, downtown. Our Alderman Westmoreland cannot join us today. To my far left, we have Alderman Perez, president of the council. and Alderman woman, Andrea Pratt. And none of this is possible without our staff assistant, Ms. Ortiz. All right, let's get started. Item one, 260-006, substitute resolution relating to the arrest and detention of Elvira Benitez.

Good morning. Autumn? Yeah, thank you so much, Mr. Chair. I introduced this file, and I really appreciate you all hearing this at this committee this morning. This is a really important issue. While this resolution is not an official part of our ICE-out package, it is related to it. Yeah, so Elvira Benitez was detained as a resident of Sheboygan has been detained by ICE since March 10th of this year. And we believe unlawfully. This is an individual who has done nothing but follow the laws of this country and contribute. And so we're here today to pass a resolution. calling for Elvira's immediate release from ICE detention and to support her and other immigrant communities who need our support here on the council and to call on our federal government to stop these illegal detentions and stop the deportations. Now you said they're from Sheboygan? She's from Sheboygan? She's a Sheboygan resident, that's correct.

Sheboygan Falls.

Sheboygan Falls. Thank you. All right, introduce yourself and speak on file. Govoni. You can pull the mic up.

Good morning.

I'm going to translate for Julio.

My name is Julio Basurto. I am the owner of the business in Milwaukee. I don't think it's something legal that someone who has come to this country and has struggled to build a better life and has complied with all of the steps in the law under this system. This needs to stop because it's not just limited to her, but this spreads fear throughout the community, and people need to live and work without fear.

And this is something that affects everybody, not just the immigrant community as well. Thank you. And I just want to say that Cuyabasurdo is part of a larger network of small businesses that have been coming together to prepare for the possibility of a ice surge similar to what we've witnessed in other cities.

Well, yeah, it affects the business community. Most people are scared to go shopping and things like that. I know my Southside friend said business went down 30% to 60%.

Yes, that's absolutely true. There's been a decline in people purchasing and just an overall decline in the economy.

Has the South Side businesses went into the delivery model, something like that?

Yes, there are some that have turned to that model. All right, thank you. Mr. Chair, all in the press? Yeah, at the appropriate time, I want to be at it as a co-sponsor. And I just want to, so my name is, should I start then? Okay, so my name is Christine Newman Ortiz, and I did want to say that, so Mark Christopher, who's the attorney, is, I was hoping to possibly join, but is at a bond hearing and waiting for that to start. Also, Elvira Benitez's husband is on his way here to speak as well. But I just wanted to thank you all for taking up this resolution. And, you know, it requires leadership, and it's a very strong message of solidarity with a fellow Wisconsinite, Elvira Benitez. ICE continues to prolong her rightful release, and it's important in my view as the city with the highest number of immigrants and refugees in the state of Wisconsin that we send a clear message of solidarity with Elvira Benitez and others like her to demand that she be released and reunited with her family and with her community. Elvira came to this country when she was 15 years old, escaping violence, and she has built a very good life here. She's a loving sister, mother, wife. She's a beloved member of the community. She's active in her church. And she has had her own small business for many years. And as her attorney, Mark Christopher, has described, her record is so good she doesn't even have a driving ticket in all these decades of years. Her case, I believe, is important to elevate because it represents the reality of so many of our fellow community members that have been a part of our community for many years, having children, grandchildren here, And she is being unjustly incarcerated in Kentucky away from her family and as a very intentional strategy to limit her access to legal counsel. Despite the courts granting her cancellation of removal, granting her a path to legal permanent residency, and most recently eligibility for a bond, every step of the way ICE is challenging her release and has fought to keep her incarcerated. Thank you. Her incarceration and that of others, like the highly public case of Kilimar Obrego Garcia, are unethical government actions that fly in the face of the justification that's being used to jail them. Elvira, like fellow Wisconsinite Salazar Sur and Quilmar Obrego Garcia, are not a threat to society. They're hardworking immigrant men and women who have committed no crimes and are being held in jails that threaten their well-being and are causing great trauma to their families and the community. By ISIS's own records, over 70% of the people that are being held in detention right now have no criminal record. This persecution and incarceration of hardworking immigrants by ICE exemplifies the ongoing violations of due process with baseless accusations, limiting access to legal counsel by moving people quickly out of state, and efforts to prolong their incarceration to wear them down and force them to self-deport, and cruelty for cruelty's sake. Like Elvira, there are already tens of thousands of people that are being held in ICE detention facilities and have committed no crime. But often we do not know their faces or their personal stories. Elvira and her family are speaking out for themselves and for others. They're very clear about this. Authoritarianism and the rise of fascism relies on good people who consent to the inhumane treatment of others. We have a duty to not look away. We have a duty to support them and help raise awareness of the plight and reality that so many immigrant workers and their families are facing. Our taxpayer dollars should not be used to persecute our neighbors, coworkers, and small business owners who are making our communities a better place to live. Free Elvira now. And I know Ricardo Benitez is on his way, but in Mark Christopher's absence, the next speaker is Laisha Ibarra.

Hi, good morning. My name is . I am a DACA recipient, but I also have two undocumented parents who have no pathway to citizenship. I am here. I don't know if you guys know what DACA is. DACA is Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, meaning that I was under the age of 12 coming into this country. And I'm here to ask you to vote in favor of this resolution. I share the sentiment of fear with Elvira and her family and every undocumented person in the US. and in Wisconsin. As a DACA recipient, I have to file for my work permit every two years, but now with the USCIS What is the backlog? It's taking six to eight months to reapply, meaning that a lot of DACA recipients have been left without work permits, have been left without status, and are in danger of being deported and detained. As of right now, there's 80-plus DACA recipients that have been deported and over 100 DACA recipients that are currently in detention. So Enrita's detainment was unjust, and we demand for her release. And we'll continue to organize and work until everybody can live free from this fear. Thank you.

Thank you. Introduce yourself and get started. Introduce yourself and get started.

You can pull the mic up. Yeah, this is Ricardo Chavez, my wife's husband. You can share your story. Just share your story. So I'm here, I mean... We are seeking your help so that my wife can be freed. It's been two months that she's been most recently jailed and she is battling with health issues.

And she's told me by phone that they are denying her health care, health treatment that she needs.

So her situation is becoming more complicated as she's being held in detention. She has shared with me that she can no longer stand to be there with the treatment that she is facing. My children are also suffering. Every day my children are asking me when is mom coming home, and I tell them soon, and I keep hoping that soon.

Thank you.

All right. Thank you. Any closing closing now?

I'd like to give remarks, Mr. Chair. I want to thank everyone for being here today and offering their testimony in support of Alveda Benitez and our resolution. Thank you for bringing this to us and Alderman Brower for putting it forward and Mr. Chair for your willingness to schedule this. I heard you ask earlier, is she from Sheboygan? And she is in fact from Sheboygan Falls. This woman is a Wisconsinite and she is a mother and a wife and a worker and an entrepreneur. And so it seems only right that we take it up even though I know we are city of Milwaukee. Our governmental body has not hesitated to call out the Trump administration for these unjust and criminal acts against Milwaukeeans and Wisconsinites. Our immigrant constituents have contributed so much, as we all know, to our city and to our state and to our country. And so we have to call out these awful, unjust acts at every turn. We have to make sure that Elvira is released to her family. so she can continue to prosper and give back to the state as she's already done and wants to continue to do. So I just, again, want to thank you all for being here today. We send you, Señor, all of our love and support. Estamos contigo. And we are going to keep fighting and keep pushing until she is released and every single immigrant that continues to be detained under this unjust Trump administration. Gracias. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Anything else? Mr. Chair, thank you so much. I just want to also echo everything colleagues have said and thank every member of the public who's shown up today. I'm really glad that we're making room here at the council for public participation and the public to join some of these meetings, even though they're at 9 a.m. on a work day. It's so great to see people taking time out of their schedules to come out here and support this and support our city standing up. Because the old adage in the union world is that an injury to one is an injury to all. And so when a fellow Wisconsinite is detained by ICE unlawfully, I am injured as well, along with everybody I know here on the council feels the same way. So I am so glad and so proud of the leadership that we've been taking here. And I'm really glad that this is another resolution related to detention. And if we need to continue to raise up the voices by having more resolutions, I'm in favor of it. We need to be raising this up every single time somebody is illegally detained. and bringing the voice here, and I hope that members of the media who are watching will cover this as well, so this story can get out and be raised up, and that Elvira can be released. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Thank you.

We're good? So, all in prayers moves of adoption of the resolution. Hearing no objections, so order. Thank you.

I don't know if there's time or we need to move on, but the attorney, Mark Christopher, just joined us. But it's up to you.

It passed. It passed. Okay.

So, Mark, good news, it passed. Okay. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you all very much.

I appreciate it.

I know you do. Thank you. Thanks for coming out. Thanks for coming out.

So I am a little rusty, I didn't properly notice the meeting. So Judiciary and Legislation Committee, we started at 9, 11 AM, in room 301B, City Hall, that's all. All right, item two, 252162, appointment of Madeline Miranda Navarro to the Equal Rights Commission by the Mayor, and she's joining us virtually.

Thank you. Ramona Ramos here on behalf of the ERC just to support, but Madeline is online.

Hello, yeah, I'm right here. Good morning. My name is Madeline. Hi, good morning.

So give us a little bit of your willingness to serve.

Yeah, so like I said, my name is Madeline Miranda Navarro. I am a... I think 17 year native to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I came here when I was in my teens and I have just kind of had my career transformed and been back to Wisconsin in the last two years. I have a master's in public health and I've been just wanting to plug in myself into my city in order to serve in different ways.

Currently, I am the community engagement coordinator at the Benedict Center. And when I just saw the opportunity to join the Equal Rights Commission, I just wanted to take the time to fill in the application. I didn't know if it was going to be something that I could do, but the application said it was for any person that was a citizen of Milwaukee, and so I just jumped on the opportunity to do so. I've been really wanting to serve back to my community, and I felt like this was an opportunity for me to do that, and so here I am.

All right, thank you. Any questions by committee? All right, Alderman Pratt moves approval. Thank you for your support.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. All right, item 3251956, resolution related to the claim of Julius Adway.

Yes. For this claim, Mr. Attaway claims that his vehicle sustained damage on April 2nd, 2025, when a branch from the city tree fell on his vehicle parked at 3856 North 36th Street. He seeks $21,572.62 in repair costs based on the repair estimates submitted. A representative from Forestry can go into it more, but that is the basic facts of this case.

Frank Salamers, Central Forestry District Manager. As stated, those are correct. On April 2nd, we were notified that a tree split has fallen across the road. It was a 26-inch linden tree. The weather on that date was a thunderstorm with the event of 1.1 inches of rain with peak wind gusts of over 50 miles an hour with sustained wind gusts of 33 miles an hour. Overall, Central Forestry responded to 25 calls that day for downed trees and branches across the city. At the time of inspection, Where is it right here? The branch that failed did not show any signs of decay and was alive at that time.

Uh-huh. Brother Adler? You could adjust the mic.

I'm really just at a loss. I don't know what to do about this. I still owe for the car that came and towed the car away. So, I mean, like, you know, I'm still $9,000 in the hole for this car.

All right.

Did you have your shorts on the car?

I did, and I had just received the car, and I had the car sitting. It was in the back of my house, and today I have a huge tree in the back of my yard, so I put it in the front because I'm thinking the branches from the tree in the back were going to fall on the car, and the tree from across the street fell across the street. But they told me that the tree was due to be cut, and it was a rotten tree or something like that.

Forestry, do you have records of it?

We have no records of complaints of this tree until the date of failure.

When was the last time that tree was serviced?

It was part of our pruning inspection, and it fell in quarter section 648 for our management unit. It was completed in 2015, which is relatively consistent with our 10-year cycle, so to speak, six-year cycle inspection.

Anything from the committee? Our emotional floors denial So motion passes. 3-0. Denial. City attorney.

Yes, Mr. Attaway, this is not the last step. What happens now is that the motion for denial goes to the full common council, which meets on June 2, 2026. If the full council adopts the committee's recommendation, then you will receive a formal notice of denial by mail. And once you have received that formal notice of denial, you can pursue the matter further in litigation in circuit court.

All right, item four, 251514, resolution related to the claim of Barbara Robertson.

Good morning. Good morning.

Yes. Ms. Robinson brings this claim alleging that roots of a city tree caused property damage to the retaining wall and sidewalk of her property located at 8535 West Capitol Drive. She submitted a repair estimate in the amount of $16,500. The city attorney's office has recommended denial because there's no evidence to support the claim that the roots from the city tree from the city tree caused the alleged damage. Municipalities are generally not liable for damages caused by natural growth of tree roots unless there is evidence of negligence. And a representative from the Forestry Department can speak to the facts of this case.

Good morning, Jeff Pluslow, Urban Forestry District Manager for the North Area. We've only had received one service request for that property. It's a corner lot. It wasn't for the side of the street that the retaining wall was. It was for on Capitol Drive. And that was in 2014. And we took no action because we did not find any need to prune that tree out of cycle. The last time all the trees in that quarter section were pruned were in 2019. And we've received no other requests for tree inspection or anything else related to the tree on the 86th Street side. There was one service request when I was looking it up, but it was for streets for lifted sidewalks, and they ramped it.

They actually put asphalt ramps on it and then we'll take care of it later whenever it fits into their schedule And I purchased this building in 2018 Nearly seven and a half years ago. I retired from the Milwaukee Police Department the city of Milwaukee and My property tax when I bought this building was $11,000. I have one tenant in there that had been paying me $950 a month. My property tax went up to $20,000, $20,000 plus. That tree is on the east side of 86th Street, and I do have the pictures. It has pushed up the sidewalk so high, and I have called and complained about that. Even when I shovel the snow in the winter, you have to go as a hump. And you can see where they came out and they put asphalt. The sidewalk is that far. I have no control over that tree but the tree is real big and you can see where it's coming up in the ground and it pushed the retaining wall and I have all the pictures and I had contractors come in and tear that down and fix that wall for me. I have never asked the city for anything. I'm paying my property tax as they are due but I have a complaint. This is out of my control but I fixed it and now I'm asking for a claim to help me with my expense. And so if you would like to look at the pictures of the wall and the tree and the sidewalk, I do have those.

Are these pictures in the file? I don't think so. Nothing in the file.

No, just the estimate. Just the estimate.

Is it in the letter that I stated that I had pictures because I spoke with someone and I did not have to send them, but I do still have them on my phone. And I'd be more than willing to print those or to email them to you or to show them to you at the present time. Whichever way you want me to do it. Move to hold to the next...

Call the chair so she can submit her pictures.

Okay.

Do you have Ms. Ortiz's information?

It's right on your note. It's on here. Okay, I read it. And then I'll make sure to put it in the file. Sure. Okay. So the committee will be in three weeks.

That way we'll get the look out. Okay. All right, so move to hold by Alderman Baumann. Hearing no objections, so order.

Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5251621, resolution related to the claim of Mary Johnson.

All right, Ms. Johnson brings this claim alleging that a broken branch from a city tree fell and damaged her vehicle while it was parked at or near her home located at 3148 North 41st Street on April 21st, 2025. She submitted to repair estimates of $7,679.96 and $6,007.52. The city attorney's office has recommended a denial because the damage was unforeseeable and the city had no prior notice that the tree was failing, and therefore the city was not negligent in this matter. Representative from Forestry is here to speak on the facts.

Morning again, Frank Salmer, Urban Forestry District Manager for Central District. April 21st, 2025, forestry was notified of a branch down at Fennel on the vehicle at the address mentioned. The 24-inch honey locust at that time appeared to be in good health. On the 21st of April in 2025, we had peak wind gusts of over 40 miles an hour with sustained wind speeds of 26 miles an hour as reported from General Mitchell International Airport. On that day, the Central Forestry Section responded to 17 calls for downed trees and branches across our district. The last pruning cycle was in Quarter Section 287, was completed in March 2022, when at that time, the tree was deemed not to need pruning done. It was outside the diameter limits of how we work, so a large tree was inspected, and at that time, no foreseeable failures were evident. A field report from staff that responded to the call. The tree branch that fell was not alive at that time, but there was no point or evident point of decay at where the limb failed at that time. And there was no visibility of any rot or failure from the ground of where that limb failed.

All right.

So let me start back from this year. First, the city had people changing the pipes in the homes. They had people working. One of the trucks hit my car. And it was from Seven Star or whatever. That was $5,007 worth of damage done. In order for me to drive the car, I had to take it so somebody could pull out that side so I could open the door and get in the car. The city denied that. They didn't pay for it. They just sent me a letter and said there's not enough information. And nobody admitted. He said that the wind was high. I was in the house, and this was like 7 o'clock in the morning, and I went outside because I'm usually up at 5 o'clock. So I go outside, and the guy across the street is working on his boat, getting ready to go do whatever he's going to do. And we were talking, and he said, well, would you like to go with me? I'm like, no, I don't want to go in the water in no boat, you know, not me. I walked back in the house and he comes across the street and ring my doorbell and said, that car you got must be jinxed because a tree limb just fell off the tree and messed it up. And that's what happened. So I don't know where the wind came from that fast, but there were no wind blowing. There was no nothing that morning. And so now I got $6,000 worth of damage done to my car. And if I turn that, I have to pay the $1,000 to get the car runnable waiting to see what your decision was gonna be. And it came back denied. So then I turned it into the insurance company and then I still have to pay money out of pocket. Now I got another $6,000 damage done to that very same car. And I turned that into the insurance company and my insurance went sky high. So I can't do anything to the car because of my fixed income. So what am I supposed to do? I haven't had this car two years, and it's messed up.

All right. Any questions from the committee?

No. I'm here at the mercy of this, whatever the outcome is. But somebody needs to do something.

So these are just estimates? You didn't get a fixture? Pardon me? These are just estimates? You didn't get it fixed yet?

Yeah.

Okay.

No, I didn't get it fixed yet. No, I don't have any money to put in it to get it fixed. I just had to get it fixed before so I could drive it, get in and out the car. The wheels were scrubbing, and so now I'm back to square one where the lights is messed up.

And deductible is $1,000? $500.

$500 for the deductible?

Mr. Chair. So I just want to be clear, the damages you're seeking from the city, from the branch or to the roof of the vehicle, from the pictures I'm seeing here?

Yes. You have to see it. The light up there is just, and all the, what they say they got to go in there to do it don't make sense to me, but I don't work on cars. So, you know, I have to go by what they say. And I've called the city about the tree in front of my house that the roots is up out of the ground. They've been out there three times and they said there's nothing wrong with it. But when I moved there and planted flowers around the tree, the flowers was in the ground. Now they're growing up on the roots Out of the ground. And eventually, oh, we ain't going to come and blow that over. Then what's going to happen? Nobody's going to do anything?

Ms. Scherer. For Forestry, she's saying that they reported the trees being unsafe. You're saying no one's ever reported the tree?

The only two service requests for that address were on the date of the incident. Oh, no, I apologize. We had one on 6-14-2024. Roots surface and tree lawn. Roots are growing over sidewalk. It was inspected and determined that the tree was still in good health at that time and that the displacement of the sidewalk was not negatively affecting the tree.

Okay. We normally don't settle claims like this. You get the night here in order for you to go to municipal court. So I'll entertain a motion. I'll move to now. I'll move to now by Alderman Perez. I'll abstain. So 3-1. Motion passed.

All right. As Alderman Perez just said, this is not the last step. What happens now is that the motion for denial gets referred over to the full common council, which meets on June 2nd, 2026. If the full council adopts this committee's recommendation, then you will receive a formal notice of denial by mail. And then once you receive that formal notice of denial by mail, you have satisfied all the prerequisites to file suit in circuit court.

Item 6260072, resolution related to the appeal of Jackie Williams for property damage. Good morning.

Good morning.

All right, Ms. Williams is here making a claim that a branch from a city tree fell onto her porch and fence of her property located at 336 North 34th Street on June 18th, 2025. The city attorney's office has recommended denial because there is no evidence that the city was negligent and that Forestry could not have foreseen or prevented the damage from occurring in this case. Our representative from Forestry is here to speak on the facts.

Good morning again. Frank Starlamer, Urban Forestry District Manager, Central District. June 18th, 2025, we were notified of a branch had fallen on the porch at the address mentioned in the claim. The training questions a 24-inch ash tree that appeared to be a good health at the time. The branch that failed was alive, and there's no evidence of decay at the failure point. On that day, we experienced a severe thunderstorm with one and a quarter inches of rain, the peak wind gusts of 17 miles an hour. On that day the forestry section as a whole received 58 calls and complaints for downed trees and branches across the city The last time that this tree was part of our normal management was in quarter section 401 and was completed in March of 2019 Service request history was reviewed for this address going back to June of 2018 with two other force-related service requests replaced for the street. One was from September 2021 and an older one from June of 22. Both were regarding roots, surfacing, and sidewalk damage, requesting that the tree be cut down. The tree was inspected both times and found to be in good health and referred to streets for sidewalk repairs.

All right. Ms. Williams?

Yes, I have called in and made several complaints about the tree. It's growing onto the sidewalk. I mean, like, literally, like... Like she was saying, when you shovel in the wintertime, I have pictures also. It's just horrible. The sidewalk is just ruined. And, you know, we trip over it all the time. And this tree is still causing damage. It ruined my neighbor's car, and it caused damage to my son's car. I tried to get a printout. of the complaints that I made in regards to the tree. It destroyed my whole gate. It knocked the whole front part of my gate off and my banister to the rail going up to the porch. It needs to be gone. I mean, I understand nobody can predict the weather or whatever, but that's just like if I leave here right now and I run into a stop sign, destroy a city sign or something, I'm going to be liable to... You guys are going to hold me responsible to pay for that sign, so I don't feel like I should have to pay for something that... You know, this city, I mean, the tree belongs to the city. It doesn't belong to me. It's not on my property. And I have requested to have it removed. I tried to get a printout, but I still have not received the printout of the complaints that I filed about this tree. And like I said, it's still causing damage to other people's property. I guess, you know, you guys won't be happy until I destroy my home completely.

Are you there for committee?

I don't want to prep. I mean, I guess I wonder, for forestry, what's the protocol? Because earlier you said that the roots weren't causing an issue for the tree. So I'm just wondering about when the roots are causing an issue for the people, what's the protocol around that?

I mean, if we have a situation where there's infrastructure damage related to the tree, then that is... then refer to that department of infrastructure of what part is being damaged. And then it kind of falls back into their repair cycle and what their priorities are. Removing the tree doesn't fix the sidewalk. It's still going to be that way until it's addressed that way. So we don't preemptively remove things until construction is pending of the work to be done. As long as the tree is in good health and isn't displaying any signs of dying or whatever, we don't preemptively do that until the infrastructure will be repaired to where it's supposed to be.

Thank you. So the estimate here is 2285, that's for everything?

Mm-hm.

Is this an estimate or you have it worked on?

No, it's just an estimate. I still haven't got it completed.

Any other questions? No questions, move denial. Move denials on the floor. Any other questions? Hearing no objections, so ordered.

All right, Ms. Williams, this is not the last step. What happens now is that the decision of the committee would be referred to the full Common Council on June 2nd, 2026. If the full council adopts this committee's recommendation of denial, then you will receive a formal notice of denial by mail. Once you receive that formal notice of denial, you will satisfy the statutory prerequisites to file suit in circuit court if you wish to pursue this matter further litigation. Yes, I do.

So y'all just deny everybody? Y'all don't pay for nobody?

This is the first step. Yeah, so you just get a denial from us, now you can sue the city properly. That's not legal advice, though. All right, item seven, 251631, resolution related to the claim of Julian Woodruff. Julian Woodruff. This is a second non-appearance. I'll entertain a motion.

Move denial.

Move denial for second non-appearance by Alderman Pratt. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item 8, 251627, resolution related to the claim of Steven Brandenburg. Steven Brandenburg.

Mr. Chair. Mr. Chief. Go ahead.

This is the one we were going to hold. We hope for further investigation.

Move to hold.

This is the second non-appearance.

I will draw that motion.

Second non-appearance, I will entertain a motion. Move denial. Move denial for second, well, third non-appearance. Hearing no objections, so ordered by Alderman Pratt. Item 9251516, resolution related to the claim of unique law.

They likely, this is from a law firm, the claim, so they likely just want to denial.

All right. Armin Bauman moves denial for item nine. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item 10251734, communication from the election committee related to its plans for using operational funds made available by cancellation of the February 2026 primary election.

You're up. Okay.

All right, good morning.

Good morning. I'm assuming this is to be referred to finance and personnel?

Well, that was the plan.

I'm happy to speak on it, of course.

I guess why don't you give us a background on this? What are we being asked to do here?

I'm not certain. This was a file put forward by Alderman Bergalis. So as you all may be aware, we didn't know what this file entails. So we did not have a primary in February, which is very unique. And As a result, it impacts our budget, of course. But as you know, the Milwaukee Election Commission is a very small department, very small staff. And as you recall, in 2024, we ended up having six elections, one being a citywide recall. And so funding is an issue that we always have, and we have many needs for it. We are investing a lot in equipment and other equipment. operating needs that will assist us in preparing for the November election which based upon what we're seeing the large number of people running currently in the primary we are expecting presidential level turnouts historically governor's races are about 60% turnout and so with that the funding from not having the primary will prepare us for that okay well move to receiving place on file

I do have a question. Yes, sir. Why did we destroy ballots when we were allowed to?

That was not my call. Which call was it? The county. So state law says, I think about 48 hours after every election, we shall transfer the ballots and poll books over to the county. So the county has possession of those materials. And then the statute for all federal elections is 22 months, if I'm not mistaken.

So 22 months, we're allowed to destroy ballots?

Correct.

So a little under two years? Correct. And this is the 2020 election? Correct. That is now six years, five and a half years in?

Correct.

And the ballots are still sitting over there? That is my understanding. Whose decision? The county election commission? That was their decision?

The county clerk, yes.

Okay. All right.

Any questions on that one? So what are the preparations for this big election coming up?

Like I said, presidential election, the file that's coming up, we have the early voting centers in the next item, if I'm not mistaken. And then, of course, we are going to be kicking off in the next two weeks. And you should expect emails from us for poll workers. Obviously, we about double our poll workers for the November election. August, we expect to be pretty exciting. Obviously, I think it's now 17,000 people running for Democratic primary. So that, likely given the size of our city and the number of people, we likely will be one of two cities that will define who will be on the Democratic primary. I'm sorry, the Democratic seat for governor. And so we have to be prepared for that. Central count in November will be held at the Italian Community Center. It is a much smaller venue than we had at the Baird. However, it has a 600 person parking lot right outside of the building, as you may recall, the Baird Center. was very large but many of our poll workers in the middle of the night had to walk several blocks that doesn't feel right additionally the baird center obviously was much more expensive and at the italian community center we are able to feed our poll workers three meals which i think is very important it's a long 15 hour day so we have to make some operational adjustments in order to adjust for the size but you know at our operations center currently we do split operations already to do two different rooms So that will be a big adjustment as well. So like I said, we are planning for a presidential level turnout for November. And then August usually matches about an April election. And so April we piloted many, many different changes operationally that many people did not see, but that had a pretty significant impact, we think, operationally and overall operation went smoothly with a little bit of you know adjustments here and there so we are looking forward to april and november um as i recall i did a election protection last election and um so

How can we counteract schools opening later than scheduled, things like that?

Yeah, so we have 178 polling locations, 95 which are Milwaukee public schools. They are a critical partner of ours and typically great partner. They came out immediately when we found this out. So I met with Dr. Casalius one-on-one for a brief period and we are planning some big meetings before and after multiple to make sure that we have the team ready, to make sure that they have a team that can answer the phone immediately. I had a great meeting with Commissioner Kretzky, who walked me through how they handle their EOC, talked to Director Todd to ensure that we have an emergency operations center ready so that we can plan the day before and in the morning. One of our after-action reviews we discovered was that we need to be prepared It escalated much faster. Time moves a lot faster, apparently, in that hour before election. So I think when we can get the team committed from MPS, we will be ready.

All right. I guess one last thing on this. What is the contingency plans for the school closures?

So that's the plan, right, is that MPS needs to have a larger team and ready to answer the phone. I think people underestimate what it means to be answering the phone exactly at 6 a.m. So that's the time that we open polling locations for our poll workers. That means our poll workers only have one hour to get ready. So we spend a lot of time, about five to six days before Election Day, transporting materials over to our sites, securing them in those areas. In some of the sites, we get as much of it ready as we can, and then in the morning, we deploy about 15 to 25 people to send out morning of materials. So it is a large operation. We made significant changes to our operations in the morning in an attempt to assist us there. And after every election, as I said, we now do after-action reviews to assist us in getting better every election. So that's the plan. All right. Thank you.

Thank you. Move to be seen. Place on file.

All right. Move to receive and place on file by Armin Baumann. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Thank you.

Am I next again?

Okay. Item 11, 260-099, resolution related to locations for in-person absentee voting in the city of Milwaukee for the April 20, for 2026 August partisan primary and November of general election.

Okay. Good morning again. Paulina Gutierrez, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director.

Tim Lundberg, Elections Commission Early Voting Coordinator.

So as state law requires, we must present to the governing body our list of early voting locations for the November election cycle. So state law reviews all elections as a cycle, so the primary and the election. So we are presenting you that cycle. You want to talk a little bit about the sites?

Yeah, so we have seven sites that we had in this previous election in the spring, and we're going to be continuing that in August. And then in the November election, in the general, we're expecting a lot higher turnout, as Paulina mentioned. And so we're going to be adding three additional sites to go up to 12. The ones we're adding are Mitchell Street Library, Clinton Rose Senior Center, and the Marquette Memorial Union.

Do you have the list with you?

Can you read it off? Yeah, all of them. For August, what would you like to do first? Just do August. August is going to be Zeidler, Midtown, Zablocki Library, Washington Park Senior Center, Tippecanoe Library. Good Hope Library, and the UWM Zelazo Center.

Good.

And then in November for the General, it's going to be Zeidler again, Midtown again. The Zablocki Library is going to be removed, but it's going to be replaced with Serb Hall, which is a much larger facility for us. Then we're going to have Washington Park Senior Center again, Tippecanoe Library, Good Hope Library. We're going to add the Clinton Rose. That was one of the other ones. The Mitchells Street Library. And then the Marquette Memorial Union will be added to the UWM Salaza Center.

All right. Sounds good. Christian, can I get better signage for the Midtown location? I know that was a... Yeah.

Yeah. You know, it's... We, I think, have about a few days after when we received it, we... Is it doubled or almost tripled the number of signage that we put out there? So, yeah.

We dedicate. Just because it's location. It's like tucked in the back.

Yeah, it's not our favorite location. I think we're very excited to see, you know, as the library moves forward in that other location, it'll be permanent. And we will become a staple in the community and not have to be stuck under the whims of a landlord. All right.

Sounds good. I have a file later. I can move it up. Yeah, why don't you do that? You want to sit in on that one?

The city attorney's file. Yeah, that is the plan.

All right.

Sounds good. Thank you I just think it's kind of a hole in the city with this list with the middle of the city kind of missing Because I don't know if at my house where would I go Where is my closest place and there isn't a place here that would be convenient for me So that's the case for a lot of people in my district as well. I

We are happy to add. I think that would require a motion.

Okay, thank you. To add Billard? Billard, I think. Yeah, Billard or the Police Academy, something, you know, that's already a open place, but yeah.

Is this something you would do now?

Yes, you would do it now.

I see some of these locations are publicly owned city-owned properties. So we presumably control the entirety of the property and

MPD, DPW have access, can basically serve as referees if there's any kinds of disturbances or disorder. But some of these are privately owned properties. Serv Hall, Marquette. Who controls space?

Well, so Marquette has a police department, and I know they work closely with MPD, so we would coordinate with them. We do work closely with the police department. So, yeah, the Fusion Center has a team dedicated for election protection, so we work with them. So they do extra patrols at the Midtown location and Serv Hall. In locations where we can, like the public libraries, we also coordinate with them to increase their own security as well. So we actually do planning with the police department at those private locations as well, but it is true that the private locations are They own the property they control that property we do agreements with all private locations though so that we can coordinate I mean, you know We have elections two to four times a year, you know, six times in an 18-month period, but all other times is all planning. We plan for contingencies. Of course, as you can see, we can't, you know, there's always something different every election despite our ask for boring elections. But that's what we do to plan for our team.

Do federal authorities have the right to access these locations?

Armed federal authorities are not allowed at any locations at all. Typically, if a federal authority wants to come to a location, they must abide by the observer rules. The unique nature of the state of Wisconsin is we, the state of Wisconsin, our poll workers, both early voting and at polls, have an obligation, a state obligation, to ensure that voting is not disrupted or interrupted. interfered with if they find that that is happening they have an obligation to ensure order otherwise they shall be removing those individuals from the location removing if if half a dozen Border Patrol officers show up in full battle dress According to state law, the Milwaukee Police Department, the Milwaukee DA's office, and their investigators, if the poll workers say they must remove people in order not to disrupt polling locations, that they would have that authority to do so. Now, of course, many of our locations and our poll workers, we train them in security. We train them in de-escalation. We are still reviewing all of our options. We have opportunities to move polling locations if we need to. If we need to extend voting hours, we will. At this point, I don't want to discuss all of the details of our security, as elections are important. But at the end of the day, we are reviewing all of our options. What I can tell you is the Milwaukee Election Commission is dedicated to ensuring that democracy is not interrupted.

So we have a motion on the floor that's from Alderman Pratt to add Village Street Library as an early voting site. Is this something possible? This is feasible?

Yep.

All right. Hearing no objections, so order. Thank you. And the motion overall moved by Alderman Bauman to adopt the resolution. So hearing no objections, so order. Thank you. And I'll stick around. Like I said, I'll...

Adjust everything.

Okay. Thank you. Item 12, 241692, communication from the Intergovernmental Relations Division and Legislative Affairs Division relating to legislative updates.

Good morning. Good morning. Jordan Permico, Director in the Government and Relations Division.

Justin Morales, Legislative Affairs Division.

I don't have much for you this morning. Obviously, I think we do want to provide a quick update on what we all saw happen at the state a couple weeks back ago now. Obviously, there's been a lot written about it, but there was a... Tax deal that was on the table and an agreement between Governor Evers, Speaker Voss, and Majority Leader Lenehue that would have increased special education funding around the state, provided some property tax relief, and a tax cut for many members of the state of Wisconsin. That deal did fail to pass in the State Senate. It did pass through the Assembly, but it failed to pass through the State Senate where all Senate Democrats along with three Republicans voted against the deal. So it did not have the requisite votes to pass and become law. Since then we've seen a lot of stories on each side, including a story around it would have left the state potentially billions in the red for an upcoming budget. The city of Milwaukee, LADD and IRD did not advocate in that deal, nor were we asked to come to the table, but wanted to provide an update on that piece of legislation. Since that time, the legislature has gaveled out of, formally out of session, closing this biennial session. And there have not been any word at this point in time of renewed negotiations between any of the branches of government out in Madison to try and revive that deal.

Yeah, I'll just point out one additional factor, which is front page of the Journal Sentinel today, that Marquette University poll has a shocking 80% approval of that deal. So numbers such as that can be a bit startling, and although they are gaveled out of session, they're very focused on November elections. I could see at some point a revised version of this might resurface sometime, I would say, late summer after August primaries.

Mr. Chair? Is it true that the surplus was a projected surplus in subsequent budget years and not a current surplus?

That is true. Some of the money was a current surplus sitting out at the state, but multiple billions of dollars were a projected surplus that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau anticipated tax revenue to come in. So yes, there was some degree of trusting accurate projections of economic output and spending that money down.

Yeah, that issue has not been well communicated?

I would say that is accurate, yes. And, again, I think in any major deal like this, there are intricacies that have come out over time. Again, I think the budget projected deficit numbers at the state had this deal gone through, were something that were not broadly known at the time but had been whispered, and the state had put out those numbers, I think, the day of the deal. So, again, anything, a deal of this size and magnitude, I think we find out more details as time moves along.

Okay. What kind of poison pills were in the deal that you just talked about?

I don't think there were any poison pills in this deal. It was more of the governor wanted to make more investments in education, specifically special education. The Republicans wanted to see any budget surplus at the state returned to the taxpayer. And I think there was a compromise on, generally speaking, on those lines to try and get the deal across the finish line.

The biggest factor appears to be that there wasn't advanced communication with Minority leaders or any type of? Democratic members to be Participants in the bill regardless of the fact that it was assumed all along that they would need some Democrats particularly the ascendant to to vote on it, so They were deal was cut and handed to him and said now vote on it and as the the council is aware of that can be a challenging thing to do at times Any other questions for committee

And then I just have one other brief update. Vlad and IRD have been already discussing putting together a new legislative package. The requests to city departments will be going out this week from IRD to ask them to update their items in the legislative package. This time around we're going to take, and what I've asked of departments, is to take a particular focus on any new items added to the package to make sure they are revenue positive for the city. I think as we've been having some discussions, And this council is well aware of the financial challenges that are ongoing for the city. We want to take a particular focus on next session to ensure that we are diversifying our revenue streams and giving the city of Milwaukee, Common Council and the administration, the resources they need to make our own decisions for our own community members. So it just wanted to give you an update on that. I know we again talked with Ladd division We are hoping to get an itemized list to this committee prior to your August recess Please give us grace if we're not able to accomplish that in time But we do want to work expedited and make sure you have a list in front of you And that we have a ledge package heading into next session. That's very clear the fiscal challenges and the need for diversifying revenues that the city has

One of the things I'll point out is just timeline as well, too. Regardless of who the next governor is going to be, they typically start putting their budget together immediately after the election in November. So the quicker we have any fiscal ask, the better. So ideally, we have something fully voted on and approved well in advance of that. So that would give us time to work expeditiously on the fiscal needs of the city.

Real quick before we get out of here, what happened to some of that TIF language we were talking about?

So that bill did pass. That was called the Truth in Planning Bill. So as we are well aware at this committee, there were positive components of that bill and negative components of that bill. The TIF language expanding the TIF from a one year extension, which was prior law, to a two year extension. is now in place, I know DCE is working to find out exactly what that means monetarily. But generally speaking, we've now doubled for expiring TIFs in the city of Milwaukee, and we have some very successful TIFs in this city. We've now gone from one year to two years extension to provide a set of funds for the administration and this council to put into affordable housing which obviously we are all well aware is a significant issue throughout our community so we were very positive to get that bill over the finish line and I know the planning department over at DCD is is going to work on updates of what the truth and planning aspects of and present that to committee as well

And without speaking for them, they were here in the past and they did suggest that it does not look like that it would be overly burdensome for them, whereas that will impact many smaller municipalities. It just doesn't have the same level of resources and expertise on hand.

I know. Is it Oak Creek out of TIFs for like 2030 or something like that?

I think it's different. You know, again, in our community, we have a different opportunity for TIFs than some smaller communities. But it also, again, we've had successful TIFs that we'll be rolling off the till in the next couple of years and will really give, again, the whole body a great opportunity to invest in affordable housing throughout our community. All right. Sounds good.

Anything? So Alderman Pratt moves to hold us to the call of the chair. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Thank you. And the next one, I've been asked to hold this one, but I'll read it in. Item 13-260-131, resolution admitting the City of Milwaukee State Legislative Package to express support for legislation related to homeowners association. Move to hold.

Just one thing, just on the record here too, as Jordan had mentioned, the session is done for the year. So most of the legislators in Madison are back in their districts. We would encourage all members of the council to continuously work with us. to make any modifications to the legislative package, you know, certainly if there's a timely matter, bring it forward. However, given that we're in the process of revising the legislative package now, now's the ideal time to get everything structured and well-planned in advance.

All right, cool. Thank you. That's been moved by Artemid Perez to host the college chair. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Audubon moves that we go into closed session. The Judiciary and Legislation Committee may convene into closed session on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in room 301B, City Hall, 200 East Weld Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, pursuant to section 19.851G, Wisconsin statute for the purpose of conferring with the city attorney who will render... oral or written advice which respects to litigation in which the city is or is likely to become involved. And they may go into open session for regular agenda items. Mr. Ortiz.

Alderman Perez. Aye. Alderman Pratt. Aye. Alderman Baumann. Aye. Mr. Chair, Alderman Jackson.

Aye.

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Vote 3-1. Motion passes. Hearing no objections, so order. Item 15, 260090, resolution authorizing payment of the claim of John Amborough Jr.

Yes, for the reasons stated in closed session, the city attorney's office recommends approval.

All right. Auditwoman Pratt moves approval. Hearing no objections, so order. Item 16, 260091, resolution authorize the payment of the claim of the estate of Haley Linville.

For the reasons addressed in closed session, the city attorney's office recommends approval.

All right, Alderman Perez moves approval. No, I'm going to abstain on that one. You're abstaining on that one? All right, Alderman Bowman moves approval. That would be 3-1 with a deception. Hearing no objections, sort. Item 17-260-105, resolution, appealing the settlement of the complaint entitled Tiffany Lewis v. City of Milwaukee. Audubon moves to hold this to the call of the chair. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Item 18-260-122, resolution authorizing the city attorney to hire outside counsel for election-related needs.

For the reasons discussed in closed session, the city attorney's office recommends approval.

So I got to move the resolution as well?

Well, if everybody agreed to the resolution, because if I didn't, it would just fail this morning. Yeah. Are we good? We're good. All right, we are good.

Thank you. On the praise moves, move approval on this one? You got this?

Who? Who, me or him? Correct. I'm standing. No, I'm standing. No, you're not.

All in favor of approval of this one, hearing no objections, so ordered. The next files, item 19, 150400, item 20, 151477. All in favor of these, all to follow. Chair, as they are no longer needed. Hearing no objections, so place on file. As they are no longer needed. And that concludes judiciary and legislation. Thank you.