Milwaukee County supervisors voted 17-1 to approve an amended $1.5 billion budget for 2027, pushing the spending plan through just days after officials revealed that a software error had blown a multimillion-dollar hole in the numbers. The shortfall, variously described as $4.6 million or $4.56 million, stemmed from an automated budgeting formula that produced savings that never actually existed.
A Formula Glitch Tied to Airport Accounting
According to the WISN account of the error, positive and negative signs were reversed on two airport-related entries — a $4.49 million depreciation contribution and $2.21 million in airport revenue — which together created the gap in County Executive David Crowley’s proposed spending plan. The station reported that the board ultimately voted 17-1 to adopt the amended budget, which also reduced the proposed property tax levy by $695,157.
County officials said the error has since been corrected. A spokesperson for Crowley’s administration told FOX6 that the Office of Strategy, Budget and Performance “acted immediately to create a solution and correct the formula to prevent a recurrence,” as reported by FOX6 Milwaukee, which put the shortfall at $4.56 million. The discrepancy between the $4.6 million and $4.56 million figures appeared across different outlets’ coverage of the same error.
Timing of the Disclosure Draws Scrutiny
The error’s timing became a flashpoint. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Crowley’s administration knew about the problem roughly two weeks before the election, according to his own budget office, yet the hole in his proposed 2027 county budget did not become public until shortly before the board’s scheduled Nov. 5 vote. Per the seed story from WTMJ, county supervisors expressed frustration that the error was not disclosed sooner, saying the delay left little time to review its full impact before the vote.
That frustration boiled over into formal action. Supervisors Jack Eckblad and Shawn Rolland introduced a budget transparency amendment that the full board passed unanimously, 18-0, according to WTMJ. The amendment requires the Office of Strategy, Budget and Performance to deliver a report in December explaining the accounting error.
Supervisors Weigh In, Some Pointed
Eckblad planned to bring a resolution authorizing an audit next month. Supervisor Steve Taylor held Crowley accountable.
Board chair Marcelia Nicholson-Bovell praised the amended spending plan for preserving important community services, saying the board’s budget invests in community priorities, strengthens essential services and lowers the proposed property tax levy. The approved budget includes investments in county parks, youth programs, food assistance and community services, and it removes a proposed pay-to-park program that would have affected county parks and lakefront areas.
Offsets Still Under Review
County officials are weighing several options to cover the shortfall rather than cutting services outright. Per WISN, those under consideration include additional prescription drug rebates, leftover cash from capital projects scheduled to close in 2027, and savings or surpluses within departmental operating budgets. A Nov. 4 memo cited by the same outlet said the county plans to offset the gap during 2027 and bring a fund transfer to the board for approval by the end of March.
The shortfall followed Crowley’s original Oct. 1 proposal, which called for a $1.5 billion budget — roughly 6% higher spending than the prior year — alongside an approximate 2.6% increase in the county property tax levy, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s earlier coverage of the proposal. The Independent noted that the $4.56 million error amounted to about 0.3 percent of that $1.5 billion spending plan — a small fraction of the overall budget, even as it dominated debate heading into the vote.
What Happens Next
The amended budget now heads to Crowley for his approval. The county board is scheduled to meet at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 to consider any vetoes he issues, according to WISN. Whether Crowley signs off on the plan as passed, and how the promised December report will address the formula error, remain open questions as the county moves toward the new fiscal year.
