$2 An Hour Or 2%? Council Rewrites City Worker Pay Plan

Ald. Alex Brower addresses his council colleagues during the 2027 budget adoption meeting. Photo by Jeramey Jannene. The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously Friday to scrap Mayor Cavalier Johnson s proposed 2% raise for general city employees in favor of a more complicated system that delivers larger raises to the city s lowest-paid workers. The revised proposal, introduced by council members Peter Burgelis and Alex Brower, would provide a $1-per-hour raise to employees making between $20 and $25 per hour and a 50-cent-per-hour raise to those earning between $25 and $30. All general city employees would also receive a 1% across-the-board raise, replacing the mayor s proposed 2% increase. Combined with a previously approved increase in the city s employee residency incentive, the amendment would give employees earning $20 per hour a 6.5% raise, while those earning $30 per hour would receive a 3.1% increase. The city s highest-paid general employees would receive a 1.5% increase i