City of Milwaukee

What City of Milwaukee does

The City of Milwaukee is a municipal government entity established in 1846, serving nearly 600,000 residents across 15 aldermanic districts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It delivers the full spectrum of local government services — public safety (Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee Fire Department, and the consolidated Department of Emergency Communications launched February 16, 2025), public health, utilities (Milwaukee Water Works, Sanitation, Parking), administrative functions (licensing, permitting, tax collection, elections), neighborhood code enforcement, and economic development — through approximately 40 departments and a workforce of roughly 7,000 employees.

The technology backbone is a portfolio of enterprise and citizen-facing systems rather than a unified platform: Tyler (property tax), Accela/LMS (land management and permits), Bluebeam (electronic plan review), Workday and MUNIS (HR/payroll), Legistar (legislative management), with resident-facing portals including My Milwaukee Home, MKE Mobile Action App, the Milwaukee Open Data Portal, and the Open Checkbook transparency platform. Mayor Cavalier Johnson (elected April 2022) and a 15-member Common Council govern the city.

Revenue is generated through property taxation, state sales tax distributions (~$209.2M in FY2025), licensing and permit fees across more than 100 categories, user fees, and federal/state grants (>$328M administered in 2024, plus a ~$394.2M ARPA direct allocation). The city holds investment-grade ratings (A+ Fitch, A3 Moody's, A− S&P) and manages approximately $1B in city debt, reflecting a structurally low cost of capital relative to any private-sector comparator.

Name

City of Milwaukee

Legal name

City of Milwaukee

Website

https://city.milwaukee.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1846

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The City of Milwaukee is the municipal government serving ~600,000 residents, delivering public safety, utilities, public health, permitting, taxation, and economic development through ~40 departments and a 7,000-person workforce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Government Services

NAICS

Other General Government Support (921190), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922), Police Protection (922120), Fire Protection (922160), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251), Administration of General Economic Programs (92611)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIACAA

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIACAN

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYBPAIACAF

Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

SECONDARYHLAJAAAB

County/District/Local Health Departments

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Public Health Agencies & Health Departments

SECONDARYBPAIACAM

Local Transportation, Parking & Mobility Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

Keywords

• Municipal government services
• Public administration
• City government
• Public safety services
• Infrastructure management

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Collection: The City of Milwaukee collects property taxes on residential and commercial properties within the city limits. Tax bills include property taxes, special assessments, and other charges. The City Treasurer's office manages collection through various payment channels including online, phone, mail, and drop boxes.
2. Sales Tax Distributions: The city receives sales tax distributions from the state, with FY 2025 totals of approximately $209.2 million. These funds support city operations and services.
3. Licensing and Permits: Revenue from processing over 100 different licenses and permits including business licenses, building permits, health permits, and special event permits through the City Clerk's License Division and various departments.
4. Federal and State Grants: Fiscal administration of federal and state grants in excess of $328 million in 2024, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME, ESG, HOPWA, and ARPA funds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The City of Milwaukee is a municipal government entity that delivers public services to residents, businesses, and visitors within Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its core functions include public safety, infrastructure maintenance, utility services, permitting, public health, parks and recreation, and civic administration. As a governmental body, it operates through various departments that provide essential services funded by taxes, fees, and grants.

Product overview

The City of Milwaukee operates as a municipal government offering a comprehensive suite of citizen services rather than a unified commercial product. The portfolio consists of core utility services (Water Works, Sanitation, Parking), public safety services (Police, Fire, 911 Emergency Communications), public health services (Health Department programs), administrative services (Licenses, Permits, Tax Collection), and digital citizen engagement tools (My Milwaukee Home portal, LMS Land Management System, MKE Mobile Action App, Unified Call Center). The city also provides environmental sustainability programs through the Environmental Collaboration Office and maintains government transparency through Open Data Portal and Milwaukee Open Checkbook. These services are delivered through multiple channels including in-person offices, phone systems, websites, and mobile applications, without a unified product platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MKE Mobile: Mobile application for submitting service requests to the City of Milwaukee's Unified Call Center
• MKEALERT
• City Channel 25
• Hello Summer
• Year of Housing
• GiveMKE
• DirectConnect MKE

Products and services

• Public Safety Services
• Water and Sewer Utilities
• Permitting and Licensing
• Parks and Recreation
• Public Health Services
• Infrastructure and Street Maintenance
• Sanitation Services

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• MENTOR Greater MilwaukeeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2022Partnership allowing city employees to mentor Milwaukee youth during work hours using up to 32 hours of paid leave per fiscal year. MGM coordinates matching between mentors and children.
• Milwaukee Public Library (MPL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Milwaukee Public Library for career fair tours and job search assistance. Libraries serve as locations for employment resources and job fairs connecting residents with city employment opportunities.
• Employ MilwaukeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce development partnership for information sessions on city employment opportunities. Employ Milwaukee serves as a hub for connecting job seekers with city positions and provides computer lab access for applications.
• Midwest Renewable Energy AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Grow Solar program - a solar group-buying and education initiative allowing property owners to pool purchasing power for solar installations.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• City of Minneapolis: Mid-sized Midwestern municipal government with similar service scope, including water works, police, fire, and a comparable digital citizen engagement posture. Operates under analogous state-level fiscal constraints.
• City of St. Louis: Mid-sized city facing similar Midwest urban governance challenges — population decline, neighborhood vacancy, and the need to modernize legacy enterprise systems. Operates the same municipal service portfolio.
• City of Pittsburgh: Rust Belt peer city of similar size (~300K residents) confronting comparable legacy infrastructure, environmental remediation, and neighborhood reinvestment challenges. Operates analogous municipal services.
• City of Detroit: Peer Midwestern Rust Belt city confronting similar legacy infrastructure, vacant property, and neighborhood stabilization challenges. Operates analogous municipal service lines including police, fire, water, sanitation, and economic development.
• City of Madison: Same-state (Wisconsin) municipal government operating equivalent services, sharing the same state legal framework, revenue limits, and intergovernmental funding environment. Direct functional peer at smaller scale.
• City of Cincinnati: Mid-sized Ohio municipal government with comparable service lines, population profile, and Ohio River/Great Lakes regional economic context. Operates analogous public safety, water, and economic development functions.
• City of Cleveland: Comparable Great Lakes municipal government serving a similar population (~370K residents) with parallel service portfolio. Shares Milwaukee's exposure to legacy industrial base, water/utility operations, and public safety demands.

Broad incumbents

• City of Chicago: Largest municipal government in the Midwest, providing the same comprehensive portfolio of public safety, water, sanitation, health, and digital citizen services. Comparable in service breadth and governance structure though significantly larger in scale.
• City of Indianapolis: Unified city-county government with consolidated service delivery. Operates similar municipal functions at larger scale, and is often cited as a benchmark for digital service consolidation in municipal government.

Regional players

• City of Columbus: Ohio capital city of comparable population scale (~900K) operating the same comprehensive municipal service portfolio. Useful as a peer for benchmarking growth, fiscal management, and digital service delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cityofmilwaukee
• Facebookfacebook.com/cityofmke
• Instagraminstagram.com/cityofmilwaukee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City of Milwaukee