WORT 89.9FM Madison · Dems And GOP Propose Wildly Different Fixes For Shared Revenue

2022 was a record year for local government spending referenda.  Hemmed in by state laws that cap local revenues based on nonsensical criteria, 104 local jurisdictions sought relief from onerous revenue caps by going to public referenda.  Those pleas to authorize more local spending won by a whopping 84%.  Clearly, the public supports their local governments spending money and just as clearly, local governments need other sources of revenue.  At the same time, the State of Wisconsin, which is now sitting on an unprecedented seven billion dollar surplus, continues to curtail state shared revenue to local governments.  Republicans and Democrats in state government both – finally – seem to realize that now, with both sides proposing revisions to the state’s shared revenue formula.  The proposed solutions from Democratic Governor Tony Evers and the Republican-led State Legislature, however, illustrate the vast political divide between them.  Can something yet be done?  Ross Milton is an Assistant Professor of Public Affairs at the La Follette Institute at the University of Wisconsin, who specializes in state and local public finance.  He joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on Monday, May 8, 2023.

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