MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett delivered his 2021 budget proposal to the Common Council on Tuesday morning. He called it a sobering budget.

“We knew the 2021 budget would be problematic even before COVID-19 and the ensuing economic hit, now the challenge is much more severe,” Barrett said.

Barrett said the state legislature not raising shared revenue payments to the city for 18 years and preventing the city from having a sales tax limit Milwaukee economically.

He set aside money for the city's rapidly increasing pension fund — payments for which are projected to more than double in the next two years to $171 million in 2023 — and called on the state legislature to help the city.

“We are going to be in a crisis situation in two years unless the legislature begins to work with us,” Barrett said.

Part of Barrett's budget proposal is a roughly $1 million cut to the police budget. That is less than one percent and will result in 120 fewer police officers. Though the officer decrease will largely come from not filling open positions rather than layoffs. Barrett said the budget cuts more than $8 million from salaries, but it's almost all made back up from increases to healthcare and other personnel costs.

“There are going to be a significant number of people who are going to be unhappy because it does not contain a $75 million cut, it does not contain a $10 million cut, the cut is actually the budget will come in within a million dollars of where it was last year,” Barrett said.

More than 60 community organizations and leaders in Milwaukee have called for a $75 million cut to the police budget. They want that money re-allocated to public health and housing spending.

Barrett did propose a $6.5 million dollar housing initiative in his budget. That money did not come from cuts to the police budget .

In June 11 of the 15, Milwaukee alders passed a resolution for the city to explore a 10 percent decrease to the police budget. Common Council President Cavalier Johnson was a co-sponsor of the resolution and did not return a request for comment. Neither did Alder Jose Perez who was one of the leading sponsors on the resolution.

Barrett said he was reluctant to cut anymore police officers, but didn't take a cut like that off the table.

“Nothing is impossible,” Barrett told reporters. “Nothing's impossible at all, but i think what we have to have is we have to have an honest conversation.”

Barrett said those types of cuts would result in more layoffs and calls for service not being answered.

There is a public hearing scheduled for the city's budget on October sixth.

The Milwaukee Police Department had requested an increase to their budget of about $18 and a half million.

In a statement to spectrum news the department said: “Although the proposed budget cut would undoubtedly impact the operations of the Milwaukee Police Department, we remain committed to working and engaging with our community, elected officials and public safety partners to ensure that all of our neighborhoods are safe, vibrant and livable.”

The proposed budget would also reduce the Fire Department budget and result in the loss of an engine.