WAUSAU — Gov. Tony Evers today signed Assembly Bill 245, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 12, relating to shared revenue, one of the most significant sources of funding provided by the state to local governments. The governor was joined by Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) Secretary Peter Barca, State Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee), and Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg, as well as other legislators, local elected officials, and stakeholders as he signed the bill, which provides a historic increase in support to local communities statewide and ensures the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County do not face an imminent fiscal cliff.
“To me, the issue of shared revenue has always been about doing the right thing for Wisconsin. I began working on this when I took office four years ago, and that effort began for me with this simple truth: that for far too long, our local communities have been expected to do more with less,” said Gov. Evers. “Local partners for years have had to make impossible decisions, forced to choose between paying for first responders, addressing PFAS, fixing the roads, and other critical priorities that affect the health, safety, and well-being of folks across our state.
“I believe the state should be doing its part to support our local partners and ensure our communities have the resources they need to meet basic and unique needs alike, period, and I’ve always believed that supporting our local communities is an area where we could work to find common ground and bipartisan support, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Earlier this month, Gov. Evers announced he, Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), and Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) reached a tentative compromise regarding shared revenue, contingent upon several provisions detailed below, including a historic investment in K-12 schools and education. Gov. Evers and Republican leaders negotiated to reach a compromise on shared revenue that includes at least a 20 percent increase in support to most municipalities statewide.
“I’ve always said much of the hard work that happens in our state happens at the local level. Whether it’s providing essential services like EMS, police, and fire, repairing streets, expanding affordable housing, ensuring kids and families have safe, clean parks, addressing water quality issues like PFAS, or supporting local libraries and public health, today means so many of our local partners will finally be able to make ends meet,” Gov. Evers continued. “To leave our state with a legacy of prosperity, we must fulfill our obligation to fund our communities—the future of our state, our economy, and our workforce depend upon it.”
Importantly, the compromise reached by Gov. Evers, Majority Leader LeMahieu, and Speaker Vos contains provisions ensuring the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are enabled with the tools, flexibility, and resources to avoid insolvency, including requiring a two-thirds vote by the City of Milwaukee Common Council and the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to implement a local sales tax of two percent for the city of Milwaukee and 0.4 percent for Milwaukee County.
The ultimate agreement reached by Gov. Evers and Majority Leader LeMahieu and Speaker Vos represents a generational increase in the state’s commitment to local communities, and it ties local government funding to the state sales tax going forward, allowing for growth in the future.
A full breakdown of additional funding communities will receive under AB 245 is available here.
“I will never stop fighting to do the right thing for our kids because I believe, as I’ve often said, that what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state,” said Gov. Evers. “Today, we’re one step closer to making a historic investment in this budget for K-12 schools and education, and that includes providing more than $1 billion that can be used for our kids in the classroom, increasing the low revenue ceiling by $1,000 per student, while continuing to support school-based mental health services and setting aside funding aimed at improving literacy and reading outcomes across our state.”
In addition to enacting legislation making historic investments in local communities across Wisconsin, Gov. Evers also signed Senate Bill 330, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 11, which contains key portions of the governor’s negotiations to reach a bipartisan shared revenue compromise with Republican leaders to build upon Gov. Evers’ work to do what’s best for kids with historic budget investments in K-12 education statewide by:
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Providing more than $1 billion in spendable revenue for K-12 education while maintaining two-thirds funding, including a $325 per pupil increase in each fiscal year on revenue limits;
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Setting aside $50 million to improve reading and literacy outcomes for K-12 students (details for exact implementation of the funding have not yet been determined);
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Providing a per pupil aid increase for choice and independent charter schools;
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Investing $30 million over the biennium to continue the governor’s initiative to support school-based mental health services statewide;
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Reaching 33.3 percent reimbursement for special education; and
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Increasing the low revenue ceiling from $10,000 to $11,000 per student.
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