Milwaukee County’s goal is to enrich your life by providing essential services that meet your needs and those of your family, neighbors, co-workers and friends.
We enhance the quality of life in Milwaukee County through great public service.
Milwaukee County is home to over 950,000 people living in one of 19 communities, which range in size from the City of Milwaukee, with 595,000 residents, to the Village of River Hills, with roughly 1,600 residents.
Still a manufacturing stronghold, the region features 16 Fortune 1000 companies and thousands of others in the financial services, medical device, hospitality and retailing industries.
Find information about things to do and happenings in Milwaukee County.
Get help with COVID-19: Apply for a small business grant, get rent or mortgage assistance, and learn more about Milwaukee County’s ongoing response.
Milwaukee County is facing a budget crisis. The cost to provide services that our community relies on is increasing each year. At the same time, the money we take in to pay for these services is decreasing. The COVID-19 pandemic has only intensified the need for County services. This situation has taken a toll on the entire County, but has hit communities of color the hardest.
This year Milwaukee County is starting with a budget gap of $42.5 million – and we need your help to close it. Show us how you would invest in important community services and balance Milwaukee County’s 2021 budget.
We did not get into this financial situation overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. In fact over the past decade, Milwaukee County has steadily increased the amount of revenue we send to the state, while the state aids we receive in return have remained flat or declined. During this time, we have worked hard to reduce our footprint, streamline our operations and save millions of taxpayer dollars, while continuing to better serve our residents.
While we continue working with the state to find a sustainable funding solution, we are relying on community input through Balancing Act and during the entire budget process to ensure we pass a responsible, balanced budget for 2021.
Balancing Act is expected to take less than 15 minutes to complete. In addition to providing input on the tough choices that must be made in the upcoming budget, users will be asked for written feedback on how elected officials can better solve the county’s constraints. This tool is also about building a more sustainable future, so all revenue options – both currently available and those that would require a change in state law – are on the table this year.
Let us know what you think, and show us how you would balance the budget!
Balance the Budget
Learn more about Milwaukee County's collaboration to fix the root cause of our revenue shortages.
Milwaukee County Courthouse 901 N. 9th St., Room 308 Milwaukee, WI 53233
(414) 278-5353 (Voice), 711 (TRS)