Nov. 8, 2025 6:40p
(WGTD)---Long meetings and at times heated discussions characterized the budget process in the City of Racine this year.
The city council capped its work on next year’s budget this past week with an 8-5 vote in support of the plan put forth by Mayor Cory Mason.
Alder Sandy Weidner cast one of the ‘no’ votes. "I would ask my colleagues to join with me and vote down this horrific budget, the worst that I have every seen in my career on the common council," Weidner said before the vote.
Alder Grace Allen supported the mayor’s budget. "If you are only willing to be comfortable with the majority of our budget going to services that are geared to law enforcement but you don't want to provide services for amenities to a community that inspires our people to stay here then I'm not sure what kind of community we're trying to support," she said.
A major point of contention during the debate was how to fund—if at all—the city’s relatively new Department of Public Safety. The three-person department—led by former alder John Tate—seeks ways to curb violence through prevention efforts. Up until now, the department has been entirely funded by grants.
If new grants don’t come through to sustain the work, the council voted to keep the department intact by funding it through the tax levy.
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