City of Milwaukee

Recovery Plan 

State and Local Fiscal 

Recovery Funds

2021 Report

Note: The Recovery Plan Performance Report will provide the public and Treasury information on the 

projects that recipients are undertaking with program funding and how they are planning to ensure 

program outcomes are achieved in an effective, efficient, and equitable manner. While this template

includes the minimum requirements for the Recovery Plan, each recipient is encouraged to add 

information to the plan that they feel is appropriate to provide information to their constituents on efforts 

they are taking to respond to the pandemic and promote an equitable economic recovery. 

Each jurisdiction may determine the general form and content of the Recovery Plan, as long as it 

meets the reporting requirements, and recipients are encouraged to tailor this template to best meet 

their needs. Use of infographics, tables, charts, pictures, case studies, and other explanatory elements 

are encouraged.
City of Milwaukee 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 1

City of Milwaukee

2021 Recovery Plan

Table of Contents

General Overview......................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary.................................................................................................................2

Uses of Funds .........................................................................................................................2

Promoting Equitable Outcomes ...............................................................................................3

Community Engagement .........................................................................................................3

Labor Practices .......................................................................................................................5

Use of Evidence ......................................................................................................................5

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category...........................................................................5

Project Inventory.......................................................................................................................6

Performance Report ...............................................................................................................7
City of Milwaukee 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 2

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Executive Summary 

The City of Milwaukee has been awarded $394.2 million in the Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (LFRF) 

under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). In May 2021, the City received $197.1 million in its first 

LFRF payment.

The City of Milwaukee has not yet adopted a formal plan for the use of the LFRF funds. Use of 

LFRF funds requires adoption of legislative authorization through a resolution. In June 2021, The 

Mayor and Common Council have authorized one LFRF funded project, a $3.8 million Earn and 

Learn Program, a program that provides employment training and opportunities to disadvantaged 

minority and low-income youth. Subsequently, Mayor Tom Barrett released a Milwaukee 

Recovery and Resilience Plan on July 13, 2021. This plan proposed allocating approximately 

$93 million of the initial $197.1 million LFRF award. This plan will be reviewed by the Milwaukee 

Common Council’s Finance and Personnel Committee on September 2, 2021.

The Mayor’s Recovery and Resilience Plan proposes allocating the following uses to promote a 

response to the pandemic and economic recovery:

• $13.8 million for employment and job training, including connecting unemployed and lowwage workers with jobs;

• $30.4 million for affordable and sustainable housing, including affordable housing projects, 

energy efficiency upgrades, and right to counsel to prevent evictions;

• $12.6 million for public health and pandemic response, including support of vaccinations;

• $10 million for small business and economic development, including grants to help 

businesses recover from the pandemic;

• $6.6 million for community and neighborhood health, including violence prevention 

projects;

• $1.5 million for early childhood education; and

• $18.2 million for core city services, including medical services, street lighting repairs, and 

traffic safety improvements.

As stated, a comprehensive plan authorizing projects has not yet been approved. Once this plan 

is approved and projects are funded, reporting on progress toward key outcome goals as well as 

challenges and opportunities will begin.

Uses of Funds

The City of Milwaukee has not yet adopted a formal plan for the use of the LFRF funds. Use of 

LFRF funds requires adoption of legislative authorization through a resolution. In June 2021, The 

Mayor and Common Council have authorized one LFRF funded project, a $3.8 million Earn and 

Learn Program, a program that provides employment training and opportunities to disadvantaged 

minority and low-income youth. While Mayor Tom Barrett released a Milwaukee Recovery and 

Resilience Plan on July 13, 2021 that proposed allocating $93 million of LFRF funds, this plan 

has not been approved by the Common Council. The Common Council will be reviewing the 

Mayor’s Plan at a public meeting on September 2, 2021, and it is anticipated that the Mayor and 
City of Milwaukee 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 3

Council will adopt a comprehensive plan that allocated available LFRF funds to projects and 

authorizes expenditures before the end of 2021.

Once this plan is approved and projects are funded, future reports will provide detailed 

descriptions of Milwaukee’s intended and actual use of the LFRF funds, including how this will 

support a strong and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn; 

the strategies to maximize programmatic impact and effective, efficient and equitable outcomes; 

and how the LFRF projects will support communities and individuals in Milwaukee

As of the date of this report, one project has been approved. The project is Earn and Learn and 

it promotes the Negative Economic Impacts expenditure category (EC 2). The Earn and Learn 

program was allocated $3.8 million. The Earn and Learn program aligns with the intent and 

priorities of the American Rescue Plan by serving as a neighborhood stabilization effort for 

underserved communities and providing employment opportunities for those who have been most 

adversely affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Earn and Learn is a long-standing 

summer youth employment program in Milwaukee that is administered by Employ Milwaukee, the 

federally funded workforce development agency for Milwaukee. The Earn and Learn program 

has established partnerships with organizations working in the most underserved and 

economically disadvantaged communities, and these organizations conduct outreach and provide 

work sites for program participants. The Earn and Learn program will mitigate the economic 

disruption from the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing job training and assistance 

to disadvantaged minority and low-income youth. Participants are provided work experience 

along with job readiness training and enrichment workshops. The goal is to positively impact 

youth unemployment and youth living below the poverty line.

Promoting Equitable Outcomes 

As noted, the City of Milwaukee has not yet adopted a formal plan for the use of the LFRF funds. 

Once this plan is approved and projects are funded, future reports will provide detailed 

descriptions of efforts and intended outcomes to promote equity.

The one LFRF project that has been approved, the $3.8 million Earn and Learn project, is intended 

to promote equity. This project is in the Negative Economic Impacts expenditure category (EC 2) 

and provides job training assistance to disadvantaged youth who lack access to jobs and 

economic opportunities. The project is intended to positively impact youth employment rates for 

youth of color ages 14 – 24 and to positively impact workforce skills of youth of color ages 14 –

24. The project does this by providing direct work experience for several weeks and supplanting 

this work experience with professional development and job readiness skill workshops and 

enrichment activities.

The Earn and Learn project is targeted to traditionally marginalized communities. The project is 

designed to provide assistance to disadvantaged youth of color in Milwaukee.

Community Engagement 

The City of Milwaukee will receive a total of $394 million in federal assistance through the LFRF

to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and public input will help determine how this money 
City of Milwaukee 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 4

is spent. The City is incorporating input from the community through a variety of methods in its 

ARP planning process.

The City has held several public meetings to both inform the public and to get public input.

The Mayor held a virtual public information session on the American Rescue Plan, including a 

discussion of priorities for funding and how ARP can positively impact Milwaukee on May 12.

Several elected officials held a MKE Virtual Collaborative Urban Investment Town Hall Meeting 

on May 17 with residents to help prioritize priorities for investment and rebuilding relative to the 

American Rescue Plan.

The Common Council’s Finance and Personnel Committee held a special public hearing on May 

26 to provide an overview of the American Rescue Plan and providing the opportunity for the 

public to make comments on the allocation and distribution of ARP funds.

A bilingual information and listening session on ARP was held on May 27. This provided an 

opportunity for the public to join a virtual meeting with several elected officials to provide input 

and discuss priorities for use of the ARP funds.

A public meeting on the Mayor’s proposed Recovery and Resilience Plan to allocate $93 million 

of the ARP funds was held on July 19. 

A public webinar on the American Rescue Plan to discuss the Mayor’s proposed Recovery and 

Resilience Plan and potential use of the entire $197.1 million initial LFRF award was held on 

August 19.

The City launched an online survey in early June to get public input on how the City should 

prioritize spending the ARP funds. The survey is available at:

https://engagemke.com/arp/survey_english/

The survey is provided in English, Spanish and Hmong. The survey asks respondents to select 

priority areas for spending and to identify other potential uses of the ARP funds. The survey 

results will be used in the City’s ARP planning process and inform the City’s use of the funds.

In order to ensure that ARP related information is accessible to the public, the City established a 

website for ARP, located here: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ARPA

The website includes a link to the American Rescue Plan public survey referenced above, 

enabling residents to provide input on preferences for using ARP funds. The website also 

includes an expenditure dashboard. The dashboard is in the process of being completed and will 

allow residents to track how the City is expending ARP funds.

The website also includes information on new developments and updates related to ARP, and 

provides information and links on how residents and businesses can access assistance under the 

American Rescue Plan.

The City recognizes the historic significance of the American Rescue Plan and is engaging a 

consultant to assist with community engagement. The City issued an RFP to solicit proposals 

from vendors and selected a vendor to work in collaboration with the City to raise awareness 

about ARP among historically underserved residents, seek their input on what they view should 

be ARP funding priorities, and report on their activities and findings to the community, the Mayor, 

and the Common Council. Services to be provided by the vendor include:
City of Milwaukee 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 5

• Developing and implementing an inclusive plan to educate historically underserved 

residents on ARP and seek their input on priorities for funding

• Collect demographic information on residents engaged

• Establish a process to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data gathers

• Create a comprehensive report of the project, key findings and conclusions reached

• Present information to the community, Mayor and the Common Council.

Working with an experience consultant will allow the City to expand its outreach efforts, improve 

public awareness, and expand the input of residents on funding priorities.

One project included in the Mayor’s proposed Recovery and Resilience Plan is $600,000 for 

language translation services to ensure that informational bulletins and City web pages are 

translated for all residents, with particular concern for Hispanic and Hmong communities. One 

goal is to provide City web pages in multiple languages to better service non-English speaking 

residents and customers. Improving access to City information and services online in their native 

languages gives non-English speaking residents more equitable access to City government. 

Another goal is to ensure that non-English speaking City license holders receive accurate and 

contextual translation of licensing rules and regulations, and that health and public works related 

information is available in accurate translations. If this project is approved, it will help reduce 

barriers to services for traditionally underserved groups.

Labor Practices 

No infrastructure projects under Expenditure Category 5 have been approved. If infrastructure 

projects are approved in the future, reporting on workforce practices will be included in future 

reports.

Use of Evidence 

The City of Milwaukee has not yet adopted a formal plan for the use of the LFRF funds. Once 

this plan is approved and projects are funded, future reports will identify how funds are being used 

for evidence-based interventions and/or if projects are being evaluated through rigorous program 

evaluations that are designed to build evidence.

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category

Once the Mayor and Common Council approve LFRF projects, the Table of Expenses by 

Expenditure Category will be completed and submitted in future reports. As of the date of this 

report, one project has been approved and has expenditures. Expenditures for this project are 

reported below.
City of Milwaukee 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 6

Category

Cumulative

expenditures 

to date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

1 Expenditure Category: Public Health

2 Expenditure Category: Negative Economic 

Impacts

2.7 Job Training Assistance (e.g., Sectoral jobtraining, Subsidized Employment, Employment 

Supports or Incentives) $2,057,400.62 $2,057,400.62

3 Expenditure Category: Services to 

Disproportionately Impacted Communities

4 Expenditure Category: Premium Pay

5 Expenditure Category: Infrastructure

6 Expenditure Category: Revenue Replacement

7 Administrative and Other

Project Inventory 

The City of Milwaukee has not yet adopted a formal plan for the use of the LFRF funds. Once 

this plan is approved and projects are funded, future reports will provide detailed descriptions of 

each project that is undertaken.

As of the date of this report, one project has been approved and has expenditures. A description 

of this project is reported below.

Project [RG1]: Earn and Learn

Funding amount: $3,800,000

Project Expenditure Category: 2.7, Job Training Assistance

Project Overview

• The Earn and Learn project is a summer youth employment program administered by 

Employ Milwaukee, the federally funded workforce development agency for Milwaukee. 

The project has partnerships with organizations that conduct outreach and provide work 

sites for participants. The project provides job training assistance to disadvantaged youth 

who lack access to jobs and economic opportunities. The project is intended to positively 

impact youth employment rates for youth of color ages 14 – 24 and to positively impact 

workforce skills of youth of color ages 14 – 24. The project does this by providing direct 

work experience for several weeks and supplanting this work experience with professional 

development and job readiness skill workshops and enrichment activities. 

• https://www.employmilwaukee.org/Employ-Milwaukee/Programs--Services/JobPlacement/Earn--Learn-Summer-Youth-Employment.htm
City of Milwaukee 2021 Recovery Plan Performance Report 7

Performance Report

The City of Milwaukee has not yet adopted a formal plan for the use of the LFRF funds. Once 

this plan is approved and projects are funded, future reports will provide key performance 

indicators for major LFRF funded projects and mandatory performance indicators for projects in 

the Expenditure Categories that have these mandatory performance indicators.

As of the date of this report, there is one approved and funded LFRF project, the Earn and Learn 

Project.

Key performance indicators for the project are shown below:

• Number of youth pre-registered: 3,126

• Number of youth completing registration: 1,610

• Number of youth enrolled: 1,327

• Number of youth employed: 1,227

The Earn and Learn project is in EC 2, Negative Economic Impacts, and the mandatory 

performance indicator for this project is listed below:

• Number of people participating in summer youth employment programs: 1,327

• Participants by race:

o Black/African American: 965 (72.7%)

o Other Race (including Hispanic or Latino): 184 (13.9%)

o Multi-Racial: 67 (5%)

o White: 57 (4.3%)

o Asian: 30 (2.3%)

o Did Not Disclose: 18 (1.4%)

o American Indian/Alaskan Native: 4 (0.3%)

o Hawaiian Native: 2 (0.2%)

• Participants by gender: 

o Male: 655 (49.4%)

o Female: 672 (50.6%)