Common Council committee approves short extension to spend remaining MKE civic-engagement grant

Acting Chair Alderman Jocasta Zamarripa presided as the Community and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday amended and approved a one-time extension that lets Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) spend the remaining balance of a 2024 civic-engagement grant through March 15, 2025.

The committee considered file number 241-425, a resolution amending common council file number 231757, which governs acceptance and expenditure of the city’s forward grant. Deputy Library Director Jennifer Myers Stearns and Melissa Howard, MPL’s communications and community engagement director, told the committee the funder agreed to extend a hard stop in the grant agreement so roughly $55,000 remaining from the original award can be used through March 15, 2025. Librarians said they intend to return with a separate request if the program continues into a second phase.

Why it matters: The money supported citywide civic-engagement outreach tied to MKE-branded materials and bilingual programming aimed at increasing awareness of civic resources and voter education. Committee members pressed library staff for budget details and data showing program reach before voting to approve the extension and send the amended file to the Finance and Budget Committee.

MPL staff described how the original $250,000 grant was re-scoped after a state-level referendum narrowed what the election commission could accept from outside funders. The library shifted to civic-engagement metrics, focusing on outreach, material distribution and public programming rather than direct election administration. Melissa Howard said the outreach effort ran from June through November 2024 and partnered with Cities Forward, the Milwaukee Election Commission and about 50 community partners.

Library staff provided the committee with performance figures: the outreach network reported about 118,000 resident engagements across roughly 275 events; the city distributed more than 160,000 MKE-branded materials via water bills; staff delivered roughly 30,000 voter-resource pamphlets to 43 sites across the city; and they distributed about 24,100 books related to voting and civics. Howard also said materials and activities emphasized bilingual outreach in English and Spanish.

Finance details: Sarah Loshinski, MPL’s business finance manager, told the committee the library has spent $193,000 of the grant so far. Her breakdown: about $97,000 for personnel, $65,000 for supplies and equipment (including a new outreach van), and about $30,000 on outside services such as printing and advertising.

Staffing and next steps: Library officials said one outreach worker remains on staff while they await the grant amendment’s outcome; they said bilingual hires would be prioritized if additional funding is approved. The funder is also conducting pre/post surveys and has reported an increase in awareness of the project from 43% to 64% after the outreach, a metric the library said it will receive in fuller form soon.

Action taken: Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevich moved to amend the referenced file to extend the grant period through March 15, 2025; Alderman Mark Chambers moved adoption and referral to FNB (Finance and Budget). Committee members voiced no objections and the amendment and adoption were recorded as ordered. Committee members also asked staff to place a detailed budget, bilingual materials and dataset into the finance file before the finance committee review.

Committee members asked library staff to provide the grant-level survey results and the outreach materials for the permanent file. The library said it will submit the requested documentation ahead of the Finance and Budget Committee review.

Ending: With the amendment adopted and a referral to Finance and Budget, the committee gave MPL limited additional time and directed staff to file supporting budget and program materials to document how the remaining funds will be spent.