MPD investigating missed grant deadline that could have cost city $15 million

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee police confirmed they are investigating one of their own after a missed deadline might have cost the department $15 million. 

MPD Chief of Staff Heather Hough publicly made the admission last Thursday before the Common Council's Public Safety and Health Committee. 

Back in May, the department tried to apply for a $15 million COPS grant. That money would have helped pay for staffing over a three-year period. 

However, Hough said the employee handling the application tried to submit the application on the day it was due. Hough said the employee encountered a "technical error," and that caused Milwaukee to miss the deadline. 

Hough confirmed to alders she'd informed the mayor's office and the Fire and Police Commission about the missed deadline right away. She apologized for not telling the Common Council. 

"I made a decision based upon my judgement at the time," Hough said. "I understand and acknowledge that members of the council are displeased. I will own that. In retrospect, a courtesy notification to our council would have been appropriate."

Hough said, moving forward, MPD now requires grant applications to be submitted at least five days before the deadline.

She added the department will make public the findings of its internal investigation once it's complete.

Jeff Fleming, a spokesperson for Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said even if MPD got the grant, the city would have needed to turn down the money.

That's because those positions would not have counted toward a new state law requiring Milwaukee to maintain fire and police staffing every year as part of the city being allowed to have its own sales tax.

Under the new shared revenue law, grant-funded positions don't count toward public safety staffing totals. Fleming said the city must increase the police force by 95 positions over the next decade.

Accounting for projected retirements and the limits on how many recruits can go through the academy at once, Flemming said the city would need to fund each of the new hires on its own in order to meet the state quota.

"The city fully acknowledges this significant mistake. Luckily, it did not have any negative financial impact because we would have had to turn down the grant if it had been awarded.

Act 12’s requirement that the city meet statutory goals for police and firefighter staffing without using grant funding means we cannot accept any grant funding for the foreseeable future.

The plan in 2024 is to have three police classes, each with 65 recruits, which is the maximum number the Milwaukee training academy can handle. Even with that, the average sworn strength of the police department grows by just 15 when anticipated retirements and other separations are factored in.

We have to increase the police sworn strength by 95 positions in the next ten years, so, as you can see, there is no responsible way to accept any grant funded positions now."