Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett called for a new sales tax to avoid cuts to the police and fire departments Tuesday.

At a public hearing on the 2018 city budget, the mayor said the current budget is unsustainable. Costs keep going up, but revenue through property taxes and the state remains the same.

“If the governor and the Legislature don't give us this authority, or the council or the public vote this down, we are going to see severe cuts in both the police department and the fire department and I don't want that to happen,” Barrett said.

The mayor said he wants the proposal for the local half-cent sales tax to go before voters as a referendum next April.

