Milwaukee residents spent nearly four hours at City Hall on Monday, Oct. 5, urging Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Common Council members to reshape the city’s proposed 2027 budget around food access, privacy, election services and city workers’ pay. The council is reviewing Johnson’s proposal and considering amendments before a scheduled Nov. 6 budget adoption. Its finance committee will hold another public hearing at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Mitchell Street Branch library, 906 W. Historic Mitchell St. Several residents and advocates called for a $1 million city investment in the Healthy Food Establishment Fund through the African American Roundtable’s Feed the Change MKE campaign. The proposed budget allocates $100,000 to the fund, formerly known as the Fresh Food Access Fund. The campaign supports locally led approaches such as farmers markets, independent grocery stores, community gardens and food education, particularly in neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food. “People close to the problem should shape the solution,” said Patricia Wilson, a community health worker and Milwaukee Food Council board member. Speakers also pressed the city to end its contracts for automated license-plate reader systems, including those made by Flock Safety. Johnson recently announced restrictions on how Milwaukee police can use the technology, including blocking other law enforcement agencies from directly accessing department data, but the city has not canceled its contracts. “Your residents have made clear a position that their rights and privacy are too high a cost to pay,” said community activist Vaun Mayes, who also backed funding for libraries, the Fire Department and the Office of Community Wellness and Safety. Angela Lang, executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, said residents want investment in housing, food and mental health resources rather than expanded surveillance. Election funding was another concern. The proposed budget provides just under $3.5 million for the Milwaukee Election Commission, about $410,000 less than the commission requested for 2027. Krissie Fung, a Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission member, said the city’s full-time election staff is smaller than that of similarly sized cities such as Detroit and Baltimore. Pat Schrader, president of the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County, urged the council to fund the commission’s documented operational needs, warning against waiting for a breakdown to recognize the need for more capacity. Municipal workers and union representatives asked for a $2-an-hour raise for general city employees, saying it would better benefit the lowest-paid workers than the 2% increase proposed in the budget. They also sought no changes to health-plan costs or coverage and a shorter probationary period for employees. Other requests included funding a feasibility study for a publicly owned electric utility and supporting neighborhood initiatives. Deborah Montano Luna, a Burnham Park block-club leader, said grants for neighborhood groups can build safety and community ties. The council is considering public feedback as it prepares possible budget amendments ahead of the Nov. 6 vote.