Acting Milwaukee mayor shares city's greatest challenges in State of the City address

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson gave his State of the City Address Monday morning, Feb. 7.

The acting mayor outlined Milwaukee's challenges and highlighted the progress the city has made.

Johnson believes the greatest challenge in Milwaukee is public safety. He said it's going to take a multi-pronged approach to make our communities safer.

"We need the people of Milwaukee to step up, to engage in making Milwaukee safer," Johnson said.

The year is off to a violent start in Milwaukee. Police responded to 24 homicides in January. That's more than double those in January of 2021.

"For two consecutive years, Milwaukee has endured homicide statistics we have never seen before. And let's be clear: these are not numbers, they are people. People with families and friends. People whose deaths leave emotional scars on our city," Johnson said.

Johnson wants to invest in the police department and the Office of Violence Prevention.

"We are adding the largest investment ever -- millions of dollars -- into building safety in our neighborhoods," Johnson said.

Big investments are another challenge.

"From potholes to police, we simply do not have the money we need to adequately serve our residents," Johnson said.

The acting mayor said the lack of revenue stems from the state Legislature, adding it's time to build new relationships with leaders in the Capitol.

"The money we need to invest in libraries, or for that matter, in police, or in firefighters, or in the health department, that money is getting harder and harder to find. Our municipal finances are strained to an unsustainable extent," Johnson said.

Johnson also talked about some of the things going right in the city, including community organizations achieving new success.

Watch the full State of the City address below: