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Residents, nonprofits push to restore down‑payment assistance and fund eviction‑prevention programs
Summary
Speakers at the budget public hearing urged the council to restore down‑payment assistance funding cut from $1.15 million to $600,000 and to continue or increase funding for Eviction Free Milwaukee and tenants' right to counsel.
Advocates, resident council members and legal aid officials urged the Milwaukee Common Council to restore down‑payment assistance funding and to continue or expand funding for eviction‑prevention programs during the public hearing on the proposed 2026 budget.
Timothy Scott, representing a neighborhood council, said the 2025 budget included $1,150,000 for down‑payment assistance but the proposed 2026 budget reduces that figure to $600,000. ‘‘That means 150 families will not be able to get this down payment assistance,’’ Scott said, asking the council to restore the funding to at least its prior level.
Speakers from community development organizations and resident councils described down‑payment assistance as a tool to stabilize neighborhoods and to blunt investor purchases that displace longtime residents. Joanna Jimenez, policy and advocacy director at the Community Development Alliance, said the collaborative program has increased first‑time homeownership and warned that a funding reduction ‘‘means that approximately 150 families will lose their opportunity to purchase a home in Milwaukee.’’
Several speakers requested restoring funding to $1,550,000 for 2026. Santa Calderon said raising the allocation to $1.55 million would ‘‘assist 150 families’’ and help stabilize neighborhoods.
Legal aid and eviction‑prevention advocates also spoke. Colleen Foley, director of Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, urged the council to support continued funding for Eviction Free Milwaukee, describing the program as a ‘‘watchdog’’ that preserves dignity and keeps families housed. Blue Pelican, a resident and tenant‑advocacy speaker, said Eviction Free Milwaukee and tenants' right to counsel have helped ‘‘over 13,000 Milwaukeeans avoid eviction’’ and cited a Stout study saying every dollar invested saves roughly $4 in downstream costs.
Speakers framed both investments—down‑payment assistance and eviction prevention—as cost‑effective, arguing they reduce longer‑term costs such as homelessness response and loss of neighborhood stability.
No formal votes took place at the hearing. The public testimony will inform council budget deliberations and potential amendments.
