Entering 2nd term, Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley vows solutions to big problems

Freshly re-elected Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley hopes to land a game-changing solution to save local transit and transportation infrastructure.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel Thursday ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for his second term, Crowley detailed plans to secure federal grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation that could increase transit options across the county and dodge looming service cuts.

It is one of a handful of investments in local services across Milwaukee County that he hopes to accomplish during the next four years, with continued efforts to expand affordable housing options, tackle the county's $1.3 billion capital projects backlog and improve public safety measures.

"Over the next four years, I'm committed to building on our successes," Crowley said in his inauguration speech at the downtown Third Street Market Hall. "I'm committed to addressing the obstacles before us."

More: Milwaukee Mayor Johnson and County Executive Crowley won big Tuesday. Challenges lie ahead

Major federal dollars pursued to sustain local transit

In the interview, Crowley revealed his office is pursuing federal funding to help buoy local public transit and transportation infrastructure.

The Federal Transit Administration has marked Milwaukee County as a high-priority area, according to Crowley.

Crowley is lobbying for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE Discretionary Grant program.

"If we're able to get particularly the RAISE grant, this could possibly be the largest and most diverse federal investment in our county's history as it relates to both transit services and transportation infrastructure," Crowley told the Journal Sentinel.

Crowley is also looking for money to help expand the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport and add to the County's Bus Rapid Transit system, but most importantly the ever-struggling Milwaukee County Transit System.

"This is critical, just in general, for us to enhance our transit options, but also to maintain what we currently have," Crowley said. "Without additional funding, particularly with transit, it is going to be difficult for us to create an even more efficient system that is going to be able to work for everyone in southeastern Wisconsin and, quite frankly, Milwaukee County."

"We need these partnerships, and not just the federal level, we also need these partnerships at the state level to make sure that we can maintain services," he said.

Tackling the county's $1.3 billion deferred maintenance backlog

While an increase in the county sales tax and a state law bolstering local government finances — known as Act 12 — helped the county dodge major looming fiscal cliffs last year, budget deficits are projected as early as 2026.

The county's July five-year fiscal forecast projected a surplus of $31.6 million for 2024 that would drop to $2.68 million in 2025. There would then be a switch to an estimated structural deficit between 2026 and 2028, which would reach $36.2 million in 2028.

The county also faces a capital backlog of $1.3 billion in deferred maintenance, with looming costs for parks, the crumbling Public Safety Building, the Mitchell Park Domes, and, most recently, the growing burden of the Charles Allis Art Museum and Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum.

When asked what project he would prioritize, Crowley said: "The priority is picking up every can that we kicked down the road for so long within Milwaukee County."

Crowley did, however, highlight the urgency to tackle the Public Safety Building.

"We are the nervous system of the criminal justice system. We know that we need to tackle this Public Safety Building and we know that there is a huge price tag," he said. "It is my goal to figure out how we can create even more partnerships again at the federal level, at the state level."

Crowley won't cap County Board chairwoman's spending

While tightening the county's purse strings, Crowley refused to offer an opinion on whether he would look to cap County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson's spending. Earlier this year, the Journal Sentinel reported she had spent $26,000 of taxpayer dollars — more than double the median for all other supervisors — on a Milwaukee Athletic Club membership, rollerblades, hotel stays, cross-country trips, clothing, furniture and décor between 2022 and 2023.

"There's a separation of powers for a reason, and it is not necessarily the duty of the county executive to necessarily tell the chairwoman or any of the supervisors what to do with their individual office accounts," Crowley said. "It is not my job to nitpick and get involved in the board's business. I truly believe that they have been doing a good job of governing themselves."

"I will not be getting involved in what they have going on unless it is truly affecting the work that we're doing all across every department here within Milwaukee County," he said.

Renewed investments for affordable housing and Sheriff's Office recruitment

In his inaugural remarks, Crowley vowed that he would be "doubling down" on his efforts to provide affordable housing across the Milwaukee area, including reviving the county's housing trust fund that would allocate funding for affordable housing developments.

He most recently touted a $2.5 million local allocation proposal to a Franklin-based affordable housing for residents with disabilities.

"Housing isn't just an urban matter. Housing is affecting many communities across the entire spectrum," he said. "It is my goal that we're going to be able to expand this conversation, bring more players into the fold to figure out how we can make this work in every community in Milwaukee County and hopefully beyond."

Crowley is also looking to invest in more public safety and mental health services, including on-going public-private partnerships, the redesign of the county's behavioral health system, the deployment of opioid crisis settlement dollars for life-saving resources, as well as traffic calming measures to tackle reckless driving.

"A safer, healthier Milwaukee County is needed to foster a safer, healthier Wisconsin," Crowley said.

In the last couple of years, Crowley's administration has welcomed the new Mental Health Emergency Center, installed free Narcan and Fentanyl test strips vending machines across the county, and secured the construction of the Center for Forensic Science and Protective Medicine that will house the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.

Despite such investments, concerns linger about staffing levels, especially at two of the county's public safety agencies: the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office and the Community Reintegration Center — formerly known as the House of Correction.

Carlos Bruno, president of the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association, has continued to deliver sobering remarks about the exodus of staff at the Sheriff's Office, with 44 deputies leaving due to resignations, terminations and deferred retirement in just over the last year.

Following the approval of the 2024 budget, correctional officers overall saw a 3% wage bump to help improve staffing retention and increase applications.

"When we think about the workforce in general, if the private sector is having a cold, the government sector is having the flu ... because, quite frankly, we can't compete with many of the private sector wages that are there," Crowley said.

Crowley added: "We are always hiring changemakers, but I will tell you that it's going to take some out-of-the-box thinking, doing things outside of the status quo."

Gov. Crowley? County executive has not ruled out a run for higher office

Last year, Crowley traveled with other local officials across Wisconsin in the lead-up to the passage of Act 12 and to the Capitol ahead of the approval of a local option sales tax, marking some big wins for Milwaukee County.

During his speech Thursday, Crowley reminded listeners of his continued commitment to dialogues with communities across the state, particularly with state officials in Madison to help Milwaukee County grow and, in turn, help the rest of the state thrive.

"We know that Milwaukee County is the economic engine of the state of Wisconsin," he said. "And I'm working to grow our economy, support our workers, and deliver prosperity for Milwaukeeans."

"As we rise, Wisconsin rises. As we grow stronger, Wisconsin becomes stronger," he said.

With such a focus on the state in his speech, the Journal Sentinel asked once again if he was planning to run for governor in 2026.

"If the opportunity arises, I will definitely look into taking it into consideration, but now, I think that you know, Gov. Tony Evers has been the best goalie Democrats have had in decades and he's been doing a great job in getting things passed," Crowley told the Journal Sentinel.

Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Vanessa_Swales.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Executive Crowley enters 2nd term with broad agenda