Milwaukee appeals board hears 30+ property cases; grants some appeals, denies others and splits contractor fees

The Administrative Review Board of Appeals convened Dec. 10, 2025, in Milwaukee and moved through a packed docket that included graffiti, solid-waste, tall-grass and vacant-building appeals. The board granted several appeals where evidence or procedures were disputed, denied others where the city produced contractor invoices or ordinance authority, and adjusted penalties in some cases.

Vice Chair Kendrick Yandell opened the hearing and presided as the board considered dozens of cases. In one of the earliest matters, the board granted the appeal of Radia Laster, reversing a $455 graffiti-abatement charge after Laster disputed the city’s photo timestamps and presented phone-call logs and a receipt for a graffiti-removal product. “They backdated these pictures,” Laster said during testimony; the board granted the appeal on a motion by Yandell, seconded by Alderman Jackson, and ordered the charge vacated.

The board also granted the appeal of Deborah Gillespie after the city told the panel the department had settled the matter because photos were inconclusive; Gillespie’s filing fee was refunded.…