State Republicans Release Shared Revenue Plan

Friday, April 28th, 2023 -- 11:01 AM

(By Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio) Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly released the broad strokes of a plan Thursday that would increase state funding for communities throughout Wisconsin and let the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County increase local sales taxes.

According to Shawn Johnson with Wisconsin Public Radio, while the proposal bears similarities to one Gov. Tony Evers introduced as part of his budget, it would place far more restrictions on local governments, requiring them to use the funds on expenses like police, firefighters and emergency medical services.

Details of the plan were still being worked out, according to Assembly Republicans, and the Senate's top GOP leader stopped short of endorsing the proposal. Some Democrats criticized the plan's infringement on local control. A spokesperson for Evers declined to comment.

But the plan received praise from Milwaukee leaders and other local government representatives throughout the state, who called it the first time in a generation that there was serious momentum toward addressing the state's outdated shared revenue formula.

"This will be a monumental change in how we do government," said Wisconsin Towns Association President Jerry Derr at a state Capitol news conference endorsing the plan Thursday morning.

At a Milwaukee press conference Thursday afternoon, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the plan would help his city begin to remedy its fiscal challenges. "Fundamentally, there is an understanding that Milwaukee's future is important to the entire state of Wisconsin," Johnson said.

According to GOP backers of the proposal, it would give every community at least a 10 percent increase in state funding. It would be paid for by 20 percent of the state's sales tax, meaning that as tax revenue grows in future years, local government funding would grow with it.

Evers proposed the same funding mechanism in his budget but with fewer strings attached. Republicans said the plan would increase funding for counties by $50 million and for towns, villages and cities by another $176 million.

New funding would have to be spent on "core services," which would include police, fire protection, emergency medical services, emergency response, communications, public works and transportation.

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