County executive presents $46 million shortfall in 2026 recommended budget; seeks mix of revenue, cuts and targeted investments

County Executive Crowley presented Milwaukee County’s recommended 2026 budget on Sept. 30, saying the plan addresses a projected $46,000,000 shortfall with “a mix of new revenues, cost savings, and careful spending choices.”

Crowley told the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors that long-running structural deficits, declining revenues and deferred maintenance drove the county’s fiscal problems when he took office in 2020, and he credited state reforms for improving the county’s outlook. “Thanks to those reforms, Milwaukee County is expected to generate a total of approximately $192,000,000 in sales tax revenue in 2026,” he said.

The budget document identifies a roughly $46 million gap for 2026, the county executive said, and proposes measures including approximately a $12,000,000 increase in the property tax levy offset in part by state aid and prior tax cuts. Crowley said shared-revenue changes under Wisconsin Act 12 reduced what the county’s levy would otherwise have been by about $25,000,000.

Why it matters: the recommended budget would start debt-service payments for several recent capital projects, including the forensic science and protective medicine facility in Wauwatosa and the under-construction Nature and Culture Museum of Wisconsin, increasing near-term levy pressure. Crowley…