Steering & Rules Committee Meeting on Nuisance Letters, Crime Data, and Voting Rights – June 8, 2026
Steering & Rules Committee Meeting – June 8, 2026
The Steering & Rules Committee of the Milwaukee Common Council met on Monday, June 8, 2026, at 1:37 PM in City Hall. The committee heard public testimony, discussed four major agenda items, and voted on several files. Key topics included the decline in Chronic Nuisance Premises (s. 80-10) letters, new public dashboards for Part II crime data, corporate ownership of rental properties, and the likely effects of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais on voting rights. Two files were placed on file as no longer needed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Gabriela Dieguez (Common Ground) testified on item 1, presenting a nine-page evaluation of the s. 80-10 nuisance ordinance. She stated that between August 2017 and August 2025, only 991 nuisance letters were sent, with a decline from 150 letters in 2018 to just 46 in 2025, despite no similar drop in crime. She noted that 81% of cases are resolved without billing, and 48% of nuisance properties are owned by corporate landlords with 10 or more units, with Berrata and S2 Realty topping the list. She urged the city to "use and improve" the ordinance and submitted nine recommendations.
- Cosby Martinez (Common Ground) shared stories from tenants in three properties that met the nuisance threshold but were not designated. Examples included a building with three crimes and five calls for service in November 2024, and another with one homicide, three assaults, and ten calls for service in December 2024. She highlighted that the Michaels Organization (Camden, NJ) owns six properties in Milwaukee (457 total units) and operates the Wesley Scott Apartments, which was cited for non-insurance conditions.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 (252242): Decline in s. 80-10 Chronic Nuisance Premises Letters – MPD Chief Norman, Assistant Chief Johnson, and Chief of Staff Hough appeared. Chief Norman explained that nuisance is one tool among many, and the department uses pre-nuisance letters (1,259 issued from 2020 to present) to encourage compliance before formal designation. He acknowledged that during 2020-2023, the department's focus on violent crime may have reduced attention to nuisance properties. Chief of Staff Hough detailed the nuisance process: three substantiated calls in a month (excluding domestic violence or mental health issues) or two serious crimes in a year trigger a letter; property owners have 10 days to submit an abatement plan; billing occurs only after non-compliance. She noted a new monthly review of properties with three or more calls for service. Ald. Bauman questioned why few citations result from the 515 nuisance letters issued since 2020, and Ald. Dimitrijevic raised concerns about long wait times for non-emergency calls and the need for a dedicated reporting system. Ald. Coggs suggested annual reporting on nuisance designations. Ald. Spiker asked about using technology to flag properties. The committee held the file to the call of the chair (8-0).
- Item 2 (252243): Collection, Assessment, and Reporting of Part II Crime Data – MPD Chief of Staff Hough, Lt. Krowski, and Kendra Christiansen presented two new public dashboards: a CAD (calls for service) dashboard showing the last 60 days of calls citywide, filterable by event type, priority, and aldermanic district, and an arrest dashboard showing six months of arrest data by zip code and statute. They noted that the dashboards do not track outcomes beyond arrest (e.g., DA or court actions) due to data silos. Ald. Stamper asked about tracking the effectiveness of arrests, and Ald. Coggs suggested exploring data-sharing agreements. The committee held the file to the call of the chair (8-0).
- Item 3 (252111): Corporate Ownership of Rental Properties – City Attorney Goyke and DNS Deputy Commissioner Mazmanian appeared. Goyke explained that the city's enforcement tools (municipal citations, circuit court actions, receivership) are remedial, not punitive, and focus on property conditions rather than corporate structure. He noted that the neighborhood revitalization team has been rebuilt and is actively litigating cases. Ald. Zamarripa raised the issue of landlords who pay fines as a cost of doing business without correcting problems. Goyke described receivership as a "heavy hammer" that can interrupt rent flow to abate nuisances, but acknowledged it is fact-intensive and expensive. Ald. Dimitrijevic suggested increasing fines locally. The committee recommended placing the file on file (6-0, with Dimitrijevic and Stamper excused).
- Item 4 (260062): Likely Effects of Louisiana vs. Callais – City Attorney Goyke and ACA Fowler presented. Fowler explained that the April 29, 2026 Supreme Court decision (6-3) fundamentally changed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, making it nearly impossible to prove racial discrimination in redistricting unless discriminatory intent is overt and not tied to partisan gerrymandering. She noted that Wisconsin has only one majority-minority district, so immediate effects may be limited, but the decision could enable future partisan map-drawing. Ald. Coggs, Treasurer Coggs, and Ald. Zamarripa expressed concern about potential disenfranchisement of communities of color and the need to prepare for the 2030 redistricting cycle. The committee held the file to the call of the chair (6-0, with Dimitrijevic and Stamper excused).
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (252242): Held to the call of the chair (8-0). MPD committed to monthly reviews of properties with three or more calls for service and to improving data sharing with alders.
- Item 2 (252243): Held to the call of the chair (8-0). MPD will publicly launch the CAD and arrest dashboards and work with the council on outreach.
- Item 3 (252111): Recommended for placing on file (6-0). The city attorney's office will continue using existing enforcement tools, including receivership.
- Item 4 (260062): Held to the call of the chair (6-0). The city attorney will monitor developments and provide updates to the council.
- Item 5 (241554): Ordinance creating an Immigration Advisory Board – placed on file (6-0).
- Item 6 (230338): Substitute resolution on legal action against 2023 Wisconsin Act 12 and ARPA fund allocation – placed on file (6-0).
The meeting adjourned at 3:53 PM.
Meeting Transcript
For the steering and rules committee, I am Alderman Josepet as chair. I am joined by Alderwoman Marina Dmitrievich Vice Chair, Alderman Bauman, Alderman Russell Stamper, Alder Woman Malayle A. Cogs is excused. He'll be with us in a moment. And we're also joined by Alder Woman Charlene Moore. It is approximately 1 37 p.m. Uh today, Monday, June 2026, and we'll be getting right into it. And uh item number one, file two five two four two communication from the Milwaukee Police Department and the Department of Neighborhood Services relating to the decline in nuisance letters of eighty ten chronic nuisance premise letters. Could you please join us? Uh excuse me, I'm sorry, we will be taking testimony just at the beginning. It'll be the only testimony we'll be taking today, will be on this file from the public. And um, and then we'll we'll take that information and we'll we'll uh put it into the record. So I I know that I coordinated with common ground a couple of folks to testify. Can you come to the front and testify, please? Yeah, just what is it? Two people? If we can just make room for our folks to testify. Sorry about the confusion. We wanted to take the testimony and then go into the farm. Oh, you want to take the testimony first? Yeah, my fault. Sorry about that. And and just to set the tone, I mean, um some of these uh this request for this communication was really based on um, I know that I made some inquiries in 2024 about the the amount of nuisance letters that uh I know district two that I was receiving from my district, and in the process, we've had uh communication from several of our community groups and members about nuisance issues in our community, and uh earlier this year, I know that I signed the pledge along with many other elected officials with common ground. So reason we wanted to get your testimony first and about the work you did. Uh I know I signed it, the mayor did. Uh, all the women's all the person on Maripa and and uh Kent LaBerne. So we do have some traction and wanting to move things forward, and we want to take your testimony, put that front and center, and then uh all of us can react to that as we communicate uh how we move forward. So thank you. Thank you to the committee, and thank you to the council. Good afternoon. I am Gabriela Diegues of Common Grounds Strategy Team and Southside Action Team. My comments pertain to this to several of the files today. Our message is use and improve the eighty-10 nuisance ordinance to make our neighborhoods safer, to hold corporate landlords accountable, and to recoup funds for MPB. Common ground submitted a nine-page evaluation of eighty-10 to the file with three concerns and nine recommendations. This is part of our Southside Safety Campaign. Last year, we conducted a survey and 1,557 Southsiders said crime is hurting their lives. In April, we launched a five-point safety plan signed by our members and officials like Major Johnson, Council President Perez, Alderwoman Samaripa, City Attorney Goicki, District Attorney Lovern, MPD District 2, Captain Mejia, and others. Thank you again to those who signed. The fourth point of our safety plan is policy reform. That is why we are here. 80-10 is one of MPD's most powerful tools to hold property owners accountable and to recoup service costs at problem properties. But in eight years between August 2017 and August 2025, 80-10s usage has declined and has been inconsistent. In total, 991 nuisance letters were sent to property owners in that time. 150 letters in 2018, but just 46 in 2025, less than one third of the amount, without a similar drop in crime. Some MPD districts like District 2 have been relatively consistent with 80-10, whereas others, like District 7 reported zero nuisance properties in the last two years. In the last two years, according to records, we obtained, let's be clear, 80 10 works. The city itself says 81% of cases are resolved without any billing for services. 81%. Concerns like evictions or foreclosures are rare and overstated. In our analysis, Common Ground found thousands of properties that theoretically met the 80-10 threshold, but were not declared such.
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