People who live or work in Milwaukee will have a chance to give their input on the city’s public safety plan. Milwaukee Aldermen Bob Donovan and Mark Borkowski announced Wednesday residents will be able to take an online survey answering questions ranging from how safe they feel in their neighborhood to factors they believe lead to violent crime.
Responses will help common council members get perspective from the community, Borkowski said.
“There isn’t a simple answer,” Borkowski said. “There isn’t one answer. Like I said, six of one, half dozen of another. And I think we have to then decide, OK, where are our priorities? Where we can we have the best bang for our dollar?”
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The survey also includes questions about police and community relations and whether the city should increase taxes to add foot and bike officers. Donovan said the survey gives people a chance to have their voices heard.
“It helps us,” Donovan said. “The representatives of the people, the common council, to fashion a strategy that people have confidence in and believe in and that addresses the real problems that we’re facing.”
The common council proposed a public safety plan earlier this year to reduce the crime rate in the city. It included increasing police officers, creating a local boarding school and raising the property tax.
Some community members have said the plan focused too much on adding more officers and not enough on other crime prevention methods.
People can go online and fill out the survey or get a hard copy at public safety meetings.
The meetings will be held on the remaining Saturdays in October. The times and locations can be found online.
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