Evers fills potholes in Oshkosh, proposes $2.6B in highway repair funds over next 2 years

“We’re really frustrated,” said Tusler. “His budget is a decrease from his last budget, and his last budget was way too little. This local aid is so important to our communities, and we’ve got to get this money to our roads and fix our roads.”

Evers’ proposal to fund the spending increase would require:

• Vehicle title fees to increase by $120
• Driver’s license fees to increase from $24 to $32.50

These two proposals are expected to raise about $290 million across the two years.

“Usually, the efforts around this, people understand the cost,” said Evers.

Tusler sees two options: raising fees or raising gas taxes.

“The money has to come from one or the other,” said Tusler. “The gas tax might make more sense than seeing our fees increase even further when they’re already getting pretty ridiculous.”

Republicans voted to remove over 600 proposals from Evers’ budget, including:

• $25 million transfer from the Conservation Fund Forestry Account to Agricultural Road Improvement Program
• $16.2 million for Expressway Policing Aids (provides assistance to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department for the costs of patrolling expressways within the county)
• $20 million for Transit Capital Assistance Grants (assists public transit)
• $60 million for Local Traffic Calming Grants (designed to reduce the speed of vehicular traffic)

Fixing roads also typically has a positive economic impact.

“Tourism is one of our biggest parts of our economy,” said Evers, illustrating the economic benefit of fixing roads. “If we want them in a good position, we have to have the money to make that happen.”

Every $1 in construction spending results in $1.76 in economic activity in Wisconsin, according to Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin.

Lawmakers are hoping to agree on a budget before the June 30 deadline, though discussions may stretch into July.