Local governments see increase in state aid under bipartisan shared revenue bill

The release highlighted data from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which shows that since 2011, state aid to communities had been cut by more than 9%, while public safety costs increased by more than 16%.

“As a result, over the last decade, local communities had been asked to do more with less and forced to make difficult decisions to cut critical services, including public safety,” the release stated.

During his 2023 Biennial Budget Message, Evers outlined his 2023-25 budget plan to send 20% of the state’s sales tax revenue back to local communities for shared revenue.

“The proposal meant more than half a billion dollars more per year in new resources for local communities to invest in key priorities like local health and human services, transportation, EMS, fire, and law enforcement services and other challenges facing Wisconsin communities, such as PFAS and district attorney recruitment and retention – the largest increase in aid to municipalities and counties in decades,” the release said.

In both of his previous biennial budgets, Evers proposed increasing shared revenue payments by 2%  annually, but those efforts were rejected by Legislative Republicans, who passed legislation that would have further reduced shared revenue payments to counties and municipalities, according to the release. Evers vetoed the legislation.

“In his 2021-23 biennial budget proposal, Governor Evers also proposed allowing municipalities with populations over 30,000 to impose a 0.5% sales tax to diversify local revenue sources and better empower local governments to fund public safety,” the release stated. “This was also rejected by Republicans in the Legislature.”

In June 2023, Evers announced that he and Republican leaders had reached a tentative compromise regarding shared revenue, which ultimately included at least a 20% increase in support to most municipalities statewide.

Evers that month signed into law portions of the bipartisan compromise as 2023 Wisconsin Act 12, an agreement that the release said represented 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.”

“After more than a decade of this funding being cut or held flat, it was long overdue for the state to do its part to meaningfully support local communities, and I’m thrilled these funds will be going out the door to help municipalities support essential community services like fire and EMS, fixing local roads, cleaning up PFAS and more,” Evers said. “While this historic increase to shared revenue is one of the most significant accomplishments of my administration, we know our work is not over. We will continue working to ensure that every community has the resources and support needed to respond to residents’ needs today and to plan for tomorrow.”

Small governments see big boosts in funding

Locally, small governmental units saw substantial boosts in state funding percentage-wise, while larger municipalities’ increases were smaller by comparison.

The City of Tomahawk received a 20% boost in funding, while Merrill and Rhinelander saw aid increases of 22.5% and 27.6%, respectively, according to data from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Meanwhile, numerous Northwoods townships saw their funding grow several times over. The Town of Wilson’s allocation of state aid jumped 863.7%, while the Town of Skanawan saw a 657.9% increase.

This trend was represented statewide, with urban areas seeing smaller boosts in funding relative to the increases received by nearby communities.

The City of Madison’s funding jumped by just under 60%, while the City of Milwaukee saw a 10% increase. Several smaller municipalities throughout Dane and Milwaukee counties saw increases of more than 100%.

Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, Appleton and Eau Claire each received 20% boosts in funding, while numerous municipalities within the cities’ respective counties saw their funding allocations jump by more than 100%.

A full breakdown of additional funding communities will receive under 2023 Wisconsin Act 12 is available at www.tinyurl.com/47665myn.