Statement of Alderwoman Chantia Lewis

The Finance and Personnel Committee voted 3-2 to recommend for approval a bold budget amendment I sponsored that would create a pilot program to provide $500 monthly basic income stipends to families in Milwaukee.

The amendment – requesting the Department of Administration to create a new SEED pilot program special fund of $100,000 – would be offset by foregoing computer replacement in the Police Department (for a total of $100,000). The intent of my amendment is to create a universal basic income program based on the Stockton, California model.

I am proposing this amendment to create a critical pilot program to reinvest in our people. Starting small with 50 families over the course of 18 months, and focusing on low-income and working class people living in ZIP codes where the average income is at or below the poverty line, residents will receive monthly stipends of $500 per month with the ability to spend it however they choose. Importantly, we will provide them with financial literacy and resources so they can be set up for success long after their program period has expired.

If the amendment is adopted by the full Common Council and becomes law, there will be community meetings to discuss program parameters and the overall structure of this initiative.

I was motivated to offer the amendment after hearing moving testimony at the October 7 joint public hearing on the budget.

One of the statements from the hearing that replays in my head is when a young father training at a construction company said, “I work hard every day, pay taxes to help this city, but where is my help? I need some help too.” That statement stayed with me and it made me want to dig deeper to see what could be done to help. I learned about a basic income pilot program that Mayor Tubbs of Stockton implemented for residents.