(The Center Square) – Democrats on Wisconsin’s budget-writing panel say an agreement between Gov. Tony Evers and legislative Republicans would not necessarily guarantee their votes on a new state budget.
Top Republicans have been talking with the governor about a new state budget for weeks, and both sides have acknowledged that there is an agreement framework. Nothing is final, in fact it appears unlikely that lawmakers will hammer out a budget deal by Monday’s deadline.
Democrats on the Joint Committee on Finance on Thursday said they are optimistic, but also said they’re still waiting to see what a possible budget agreement will look like.
“All of us are going to have to make our own decisions about whether or not the budget is one that we can support, or meets the needs of our districts,” Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, told reporters Thursday morning.
No one has said just what may be included in the budget agreement between the Republican-controlled legislature and Evers.
However Assembly Speaker Robin Vos last week said that “Assembly Republicans will not pass a budget that doesn’t have a guarantee from Gov. Evers of tax relief in it.”
Evers on Tuesday said he will not sign a budget that doesn’t fully fund his child care program.
Roys on Thursday said that it is “good and important” that there are ongoing budget negotiations, but she also said Wisconsin is weeks behind schedule.
“We are several weeks behind from where we ought to be, given the fact we have these really important, looming deadlines,” she added.
Wisconsin lawmakers are supposed to have a new state budget to the governor by Monday. If they don’t the current state budget will simply rollover until the legislature can agree on a new state spending plan.

(The Center Square) – While $2.3 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds were spent by Wisconsin K-12 schools, test results have shown that students still have not recovered from the learning loss.
Wisconsin Policy Forum’s analysis said the funds provided a one-time boost to school budgets but that the funding was uneven based upon factors within the relief aid. The funding also came with a freeze on school revenue limits for the 2021-23 budget.
“While federal pandemic relief funds provided temporary support to districts across Wisconsin, their ultimate impact on student recovery and on schools themselves appears mixed,” the analysis says. “Some districts have seen notable improvements in student outcomes, proving that progress is possible. However, overall statewide test scores, chronic absenteeism, and other key metrics have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.”
The analysis comes as state leaders continue negotiations on the next state budget as the fiscal year ends.
Wisconsin student scores in math remain one-third of a grade below 2019 testing levels while reading results are a half grade behind.
Overall, Wisconsin school districts received $46.6 million in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds, $158.5 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, $685.4 million in ESSER II funds and $1.43 billion in ESSER III funds.
On average, that meant receiving $2,841 per pupil across all ESSER and GEER I funds with the median amount was $1,784 per pupil. Milwaukee Public Schools received 34.4% of the overall federal recovery funding in Wisconsin at $11,923 per pupil.
The districts were required to spend at least 20% of the funding on directly addressing student academic achievement through interventions.
“Districts then faced a dilemma: their ongoing operating funds were tightly constrained at a time when some of them were receiving large amounts of temporary federal funds,” the analysis concluded. “They could use the one-time aid to sustain their ongoing operations despite the freeze on their core state and local funding. However, doing so would mean a fiscal cliff taking effect in the current 2024-25 school year.”
New programs could begin, but the funding was temporary.
“Many of those efforts also required additional staffing, but hiring can be complicated in the case of temporary positions and was also more difficult in the midst of the pandemic,” the analysis said.

(The Center Square) – A pair of Wisconsin bills that would require the state to identify viable locations for nuclear energy facilities and hold a nuclear power summit in Madison have been sent to Gov. Tony Evers.
Assembly Bill 132 would establish a temporary board to plan and hold a Wisconsin Nuclear Power Summit, which would aim to promote Wisconsin as a leader in the nuclear and fusion energy sector.
Senate Bill 125 would direct the state to complete a nuclear siting study for identifying potential communities ideal for nuclear power generation, including both existing and new sites.
“These bills are about more than energy policy – they’re about Wisconsin’s future,” co-author Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, said in a statement. “Nuclear energy is clean, safe, and reliable, and it must be part of the equation if we want to power our economy for the long haul.”
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission estimated at least $1 million in supplies and services budget authority would be needed to conduct the nuclear siting study, while the Nuclear Power Summit’s would have an estimated cost of $250,000 to host in Madison.
A report by Badger Institute indicated that while nuclear provides 16% of all electricity-generated energy in Wisconsin, down from 24% in 1990, nuclear power is the most reliable source of electricity, producing about 96% of a plant’s rated output.
This makes nuclear more reliable and efficient than other sources of energy used in Wisconsin like natural gas, hydroelectric, coal, wind and solar. Additionally, an operating nuclear power plant emits no pollution or carbon dioxide, according to the report.
“This is a bold, strategic move for our state,” co-author Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, said in a statement. “As energy demands skyrocket – especially with AI and data infrastructure booming – Wisconsin needs solutions that are scalable and reliable. Nuclear provides exactly that.”
Steffen said Wisconsin already benefits from nuclear power, with Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Two Rivers supplying over a million homes and two-thirds of the state’s carbon-free electricity.
The passage of his bills signals that Wisconsin is serious about expanding the role of nuclear energy in the state, according to Steffen.
However, Rep. Moore Omokunde, D-Milwaukee, opposed SB 125 because he said the legislation left Wisconsin residents “out of the conversation.”
“[The bill] moves too quickly without having everyone on the same page first,” Omokunde said in a statement. “Because if you went door to door in your district today, I can almost guarantee that NO ONE is going to want a nuclear plant sited in their backyard – for health concerns, property value concerns, etc.”
Omokunde concluded that passing legislation for nuclear energy without talking to constituents about it first would be “putting the cart before the horse.”
However, a June 2024 University of Michigan poll shows 54% of Wisconsin residents have a positive attitude towards nuclear, matching the national average in that same study.
Additionally, the bills also passed both chambers of the State Legislature with bipartisan support.
While Evers has not publicly said whether he would sign the bills, he had previously recommended allocation $1 million for a nuclear siting study in his proposed 2025-27 state budget, as indicated in a Department of Administration budget summary.

(The Center Square) – New polling from Maquette University on a number of state budget issues showed Wisconsin residents have strong support for special education funding, university funding and tax cuts.
However, a majority of registered voters disapprove of the Republican-controlled State Legislature’s job performance, Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto power and do not think Evers should seek a third term as governor in 2026.
The poll by Marquette University Law School was conducted between June 13-19 and interviewed 873 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-4.7 percentage points.
To cover more subjects, a number of items were asked of random half-samples of 436 or 437 registered voters, with a margin of error of +/-6.6 percentage points.
According to the poll, 71% of Wisconsinites favor “a major increase” in state aid for special education for public schools, while 29% oppose.
Republicans have the closest party split for increasing special ed funding, with 52% of Republican voters favoring an increase and 48% opposing.
In contrast, 91% of Democrats and 69% of independent voters would support a major increase.
Assembly Speaker Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, previously said legislators working on the budget would “love to make a historic investment in special ed funding” but that “we just have to make sure they can get all the way through both chambers to Gov. Evers before it can get signed into law,” as reported by The Center Square.
Overall, 65% of Wisconsin voters think half or more of the roughly $4 billion state budget surplus should go to tax cuts.
Of those who favor, 82% and 70% of Independents think at least half of the surplus should be used for a tax cut, with only 46% of Democrats agreeing.
The majority of Democrats (55%) would prefer less than half of the surplus to be used for tax cuts, with 28% responding that only one-quarter of the surplus should be used for a tax cut and 27% saying none of it should be used towards a tax cut at all.
A majority of respondents (57%) said they would prioritize reduced property taxes while 43% said they would prioritize K-12 public school spending increases.
However, the majority opinion flipped when the question was framed around the K-12 schools in a voter’s own community.
“While concern for property taxes has increased, a slight majority, 52%, say they would be inclined to vote for a referendum to increase taxes for schools in their community, while 46% say they would vote against a referendum,” the poll found.
Also, 49% of registered voters said funding for the Universities of Wisconsin system should be kept the same in the budget, while 27% say the funding should be increased and 23% say it should be reduced.
The UW system received $2.47 billion in general-purpose state aid in the last budget, according to MacIver Institute.
The responses were divided primarily along partisan lines.
“A large majority of Republicans, 86%, [say] universities must adjust to current funding, as do 59% of independents. In contrast, 71% of Democrats say the state should increase support for universities,” the poll found.
As for the State Legislature and Evers, 50% of respondents disapprove of the Republican-controlled legislature, while only 41% approve and 10% responded “don’t know.”
Republicans are almost split down the middle on legislature approval, with only 51% approving of the legislature, while most Democrats, 58%, disapprove.
And, 48% of Independents disapprove of the legislature, while only 29% approve.
However, a majority of Wisconsinites also disapprove of Evers’ partial veto power, with 54% of respondents who say the partial veto gives the governor too much power, while 32% say it’s an appropriate power and 14% say they don’t know.
While 83% of Republicans say Evers’ partial veto is too much power, with 55% of Independents concurring, 61% of Democrats say it is an appropriate power.
However, MLS Poll Director Charles Franklin said, because of the partisan divide, it would be an “interesting question, if party control of the governship flips, whether partisans would change their minds on this.”
Overall, 42% of voters would want Evers to seek a third term as governor in 2026, while 55% do not want him to run again.
While 83% of Democrats would support a third term bid by Evers, 93% of Republicans and 50% of Independents would oppose such a bid.
Evers has not made a formal announcement as to whether he will or won’t seek a third term as governor next year.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto on a non-appropriations bill was unconstitutional and the Department of Public Instruction cannot force the Joint Finance Committee to give it $50 million for literacy programs.
According to the state constitution, the governor can only use a partial veto on bills that directly appropriate money.
However, Evers partially vetoed a bill that would create accounts to eventually hold the money for DPI literacy programs but which didn’t actually have any money attached in February 2024, giving DPI broader spending flexibility to use the funds on any literacy initiative it wanted and to ignore the original fixed deadline approved by the State Legislature.
The veto was unconstitutional, according to the court.
“The constitution gives the governor authority to veto in part only appropriation bills – not bills that are closely related to appropriation bills,” the court ruled.
Additionally, the court approved the Joint Committee on Finance’s action to withhold $50 million in literacy funding from DPI because the money had only been earmarked for for future programs in committee notes but wasn’t legally binding.
“The legislature appropriated the money DPI seeks to JCF,” the court ruled. “This court has no constitutional authority to override the legislature’s choice and appropriate the money to DPI instead.”
DPI and Evers argued that the $50 million had effectively been promised to DPI and the Legislature could not use procedural technicalities, such as structuring legislation in a manner designed to insulate non-appropriation bills from the governor’s partial veto.
However, the court rejected this argument, stating that only JCF holds legal authority over the funds.
The court added that that DPI’s “disappointment” in not receiving the $50 million from the Legislature is ultimately “a political, not legal, problem.”
Evers issued a statement criticizing the Supreme Court’s ruling and the committee’s hold on the money.
“Twelve lawmakers should not be able to obstruct resources that were already approved by the full Legislature and the governor to help get our kids up to speed and ensure they have the skills they need to be successful,” Evers said. “It is unconscionable that the Wisconsin Supreme Court is allowing the Legislature’s indefinite obstruction to go unchecked.”
The court’s opinion disagreed.
“Although the executive branch may be frustrated by constitutional limits on the governor’s power to veto non-appropriation bills, the judiciary must respect the People’s choice to impose them,” the court said.
CJ Szafir, CEO of the Institute for Reforming Government, said in a statement that with Evers’ “unconstitutional veto pen” out of the way, it’s time for the Legislature to pass bills that address Wisconsin’s literacy crisis by appropriating funds with proper accountability measures.
“Broken political promises have blemished reading reforms, ultimately leaving schools to rack up bills with no refund,” Szafir said. “The Legislature now has the opportunity to pass updated Act 20 accountability measures and provide schools with significant funding for reading curriculum, teacher training, and screening tests.”

(The Center Square) – One of the Senate Republicans who says he refuses to vote for the latest budget deal is out with a list of demands of his own.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, released a list of his “benchmarks” that he says must be included in any state budget that will get his vote.
“No creation of a structural deficit. Across-the-board GPR base budget cuts of $700 million to $1 billion,” Nass wrote in a statement. “A one-time Sales Tax Rebate that would return to the taxpayers $3.5 billion of the one-time $4.3 billion surplus. It would provide $1,600 to each married couple filing jointly and $800 to individual tax filers. The sales tax rebate does not add to or create a structural deficit. No more than $1.5 billion in new General Obligation Bonding for buildings.”
Nass has said for weeks that the current budget proposal simply spends too much.
“I will not support the Vos-Evers budget proposal because it contains too much spending, special interest pork and the creation of a significant structural deficit,” he added.
Nass and Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, are both refusing to vote for the spending plan that’s been negotiated between Gov. Tony Evers and Assembly Republicans. Without their votes, Senate Republicans do not have enough votes of their own to approve a new state budget.
Last week Senate Republicans walked away from budget talks.
On Monday, Evers said Senate Republicans need to understand that compromise is necessary.
“Compromise is what happens when you have similar numbers of Democrats and Republicans,” the governor said.
Nass, however, didn’t limit his latest budget criticism to just a list of demands.
“The Vos-Evers budget plan is neither conservative nor taxpayer friendly. However, if passed it would be a big win for the politicians and lobbyists,” he said.
Lawmakers are supposed to have a new budget to the governor by Monday. There is wiggle room after that, however. Unlike other states, Wisconsin’s current state budget simply rolls over and state government continues with its current spending levels.

(The Center Square) – The University of Wisconsin System has seen an increase of staff and salaries over the past 10 years while student enrollment has dropped by 16,000, according to an audit released by the chairs of the state audit committee.
Academic staff grew 33.4% with a 97.4% increase in salary costs over that time while limited appointees rose 39% with a 78.3% increase in salary costs.
“While the Universities of Wisconsin do a lot of good for our state, they have lost their way and are mired in breathtaking administrative bloat, wasteful spending, and discriminatory practices under the guise of DEI,” Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, said in a statement. “This data shows UW continues to protect its own bureaucracy at the expense of students. The challenge for Wisconsin remains cutting its bureaucracy and investing in the programs that best provide for our modern workforce, such as engineering and nursing degrees.”
Overall academic staff in the system went from 15,425 in 2015 to 20,818 in 2024. During that time, salary costs for all of the UW system academic staff went from more than $728 million in 2015 to more than $1.4 billion in 2024.
“As the Audit Committee co-chair, I recognize that waste and bloat are inherent in bureaucracies,” Wimberger said. “UW’s future rests on its ability to provide more value to our students and our state, and I trust that Republicans will find a way in this budget to help UW get back on track and do the job Wisconsinites need them to do.”
The data was released as the UW System is asking for an $855 million increase in funding in the next biennial budget.
Gov. Tony Evers did a promotional tour of the UW system campuses while touting his proposal for an $800 million funding increase for the system.
“Despite our best efforts, for more than a decade now we’ve watched a war be waged on public higher education in Wisconsin with devastating effects of which include campus closures, staff and faculty layoffs and program cuts and consolidation,” Evers said at the time.
The UW system had 163,589 students on campus in the fall, an increase of 1,000 students year over year.

(The Center Square) – While Wisconsin GOP Assembly leaders indicated they have been in communication with the state Senate and hope to soon resume key budget talks between both chambers and Gov. Tony Evers, Senate Republican leadership indicates the budget gridlock could still be around for some time.
Despite a GOP split Thursday that halted budget talks and cancelled Joint Finance Committee meetings ahead of the June 30 budget deadline, Assembly Speaker Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester says he and Joint Finance Committee co-chair Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, are in talks with the Senate “all the time.”
“The Senate has been great,” Vos said at a press briefing Tuesday. “They have been working with us, with the governor. We’ve been in there, trying to negotiate, finding a middle ground.”
Born added that he is in communication with Joint Finance co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green and hopes to resume meetings soon.
“I think if we are talking, actively talking and working on the budget in the next couple of days, we can hammer out details in a hurry,” Born said. “That’s how budgets work. If people are ready to work, we’ll get things done.”
However, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told The Center Square that talks may take longer than wanted.
“The Senate Republican caucus is still concerned with the level of ongoing spending being negotiated,” LeMahieu said in a statement to The Center Square.
LeMahieu said the budget needs to responsibly invest in core priorities and cut taxes without creating an “unsustainable deficit.”
“The Senate side of JFC is ready to meet to continue deliberations, but it is hard to imagine that a budget will pass next week,” LeMahieu concluded.
Vos said the key issue Evers wants on the table before signing the budget was child care, noting that he had previously threatened to veto the entire budget if it didn’t “do something on child care,” according to Vos.
“Look, we’re already doing things on child care,” Vos said. “I know we’re gonna make investments in trying to help make sure that parents have access to child care, I know we are gonna make a historic investment in special ed funding, I know we’re gonna do some reforms at the university. Those are all things we would love to do as part of a bigger deal. We just have to make sure they can get all the way through both chambers to Governor Evers before it can get signed into law.”
Vos concluded that he thinks GOP legislators should “show leadership by finding out where our priorities are, getting them enacted into law, and compromising on some things that are important to the governor.”
If no budget is passed and sent to Evers by Monday, the current Wisconsin state budget will rollover.

(The Center Square) – Businesses that convert to employee ownership could soon receive a $100,000 tax credit in Wisconsin.
Assembly Bill 17, which passed the Assembly with unanimous bipartisan support Tuesday, would offer businesses that transition to worker-owner cooperatives a nonrefundable income tax credit amounting to 70% of conversion costs, while businesses that enact an employee stock ownership plan could receive tax credit for up to 50% of conversion costs.
Eligible businesses can claim up to $100,000 in tax credits and the total program would be capped at $5 million annually statewide.
“Selling to employees is not only a visible exit strategy for aging business owners, but may be the best option,” Kristin Forde, a member of the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, previously said at a public hearing for the bill.
Forde argued the tax credit could help keep businesses local and prevent them from selling to out-of-state buyers, saying, “This legislation ties together education and financial incentives to ensure that employee-owned cooperatives are a feasible solution to retaining jobs and services in our communities.”
AB 17 would eliminate state capital gains taxes on the sale of a business to an ESOP or cooperative, provided the employee entity owns more than 50% of the company after the sale.
The bill would additionally require the Department of Revenue to run a statewide program promoting employee ownership through education, outreach, training and technical assistance.
Eligible businesses must apply and be certified by DOR, and cannot already be partially or wholly employee-owned at the time of conversion.
Bill co-author Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, stated incentivizing ESOPs would be good for both employees and the local state economy.
“ESOPs are much less likely to lay off employees en masse or move operations out of Wisconsin when it comes time for business succession,” James said in a statement.
James added that several states have recently enacted bipartisan legislation to incentivize such business transitions.
“This legislation is pro-growth, pro-small business, and pro-Wisconsin,” James concluded.
Ryan Kauth, executive director of Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership, said the tax credit would remove significant obstacles to businesses that want to become employee-owned.
“Besides education, one of the main barriers to employee ownership is the upfront costs of required feasibility studies and other expenses to begin the employee-ownership transaction or conversion process,” Kauth said.
“The conversion costs tax credit and tax deduction on capital gains from the transfer of a business to employee ownership would absolutely help removing this barrier,” Kauth concluded.
The bill’s companion, Senate Bill 21, awaits approval via floor vote in the Wisconsin Senate before the tax credit could be signed into law.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s governor says he will be disappointed if there isn’t an agreement on a new state budget by the end of the week, but he has not yet said what it will take to get to that agreement.
Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday told reporters that Senate Republicans are not yet on-board with a new state spending plan.
“It is important for everybody to be involved,” Evers said.” Compromise is what happens when you have similar numbers of Democrats and Republicans.”
The governor said he’s not going to “point fingers” at who is to blame for last week’s budget negotiation breakdown.
Both Evers and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos last week said Senate Republicans need to come back to the table and hammer out an agreement. But the Senate Majority Leader, Devin LeMahieu, said Assembly Republicans need to focus on a responsible state budget.
Evers said he is ready to “get this done,” but he also said he will not sign a budget that doesn’t fully fund his Child Care Counts program.
“It’s necessary for people to understand, Republicans especially, how
important this is for the state of Wisconsin,” Evers said. “Its going to hurt not only kids, but our economy.”
Evers used COVID relief money to pump $630 million into Wisconsin’s child care system during and after the pandemic. But that extra money ran out, and many child care providers said they were having trouble staying open.
The governor asked for another $480 million for Child Care Counts in the new state budget. But Republicans have said they’d rather use state money to help parents afford child care, as opposed to paying child care providers.
Lawmakers are supposed to have a new spending plan to the governor by Monday. If they don’t, Wisconsin’s current state budget will simply rollover until they do.

(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled, in a 5-2 decision, that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources can enforce rules against companies deemed to have polluted the environment without going through a formal rulemaking process including defining the pollutants and amounts allowed with legislative oversight.
“Wisconsin’s Spills Law safeguards human health and the environment in real time by directly regulating parties responsible for a hazardous substance discharge,” the ruling stated. “Responsible parties must, on their own initiative, immediately report a discharge to the DNR, restore the environment to extent practicable, and minimize the harmful effects on our air, lands, and waters.”
The ruling went on to explain that the DNR has the power of enforcement and determination that hazardous substances are present.
“The DNR has explicit authority to enforce a threshold for reporting the discharge of hazardous substances,” the ruling stated.
The ruling was applauded by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and panned by groups such as the institute for Reforming Government.
“The liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court just handed over even more power to unelected bureaucrats,” Daniel Suhr, IRG Court Watch Legal Fellow, said in a statement after the ruling. “Tuesday’s ruling empowers bureaucrats at state agencies like the DNR to rule Wisconsin by letter and blog post, making important policy decisions while denying everyday citizens and the Legislature the opportunity to make their voices heard through the rulemaking process.”
IRG pointed to a recent IRG poll stating that 49% of voters said bureaucrats that exercise too much control over individuals’ lives are a threat to democracy.
Evers said in a statement that he believed the ruling will allow the DNR to protect Wisconsin from pollutants.
“This is a historic victory for the people of Wisconsin and my administration’s fight against PFAS and other harmful contaminants that are affecting families and communities across our state,” Evers said in a statement. “The Supreme Court’s decision today means that polluters will not have free rein to discharge harmful contaminants like PFAS into our land, water, and air without reporting it or taking responsibility for helping clean up those contaminants.”

(The Center Square) – A $500 million plan to build a new Milwaukee County criminal courthouse that would reinforce public safety standards and potentially introduce new cost savings was recently greenlit by county officials.
However, the Wisconsin budget gridlock in Madison has made the project’s funding uncertain.
The plan approved by the county would tear down the aging Milwaukee County Safety Building, built in 1929, and build the new courthouse complex on the site.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers originally wanted $25 million to help fund the new courthouse initiative in his proposed budget.
However, recent internal divisions between GOP leadership in the legislature that halted all committee budget meetings until further notice have some county officials thinking the project could be at risk of losing those proposed funds.
“The state budget is a dynamic process and our conversations with partners in the legislature are ongoing,” a spokesperson for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley told The Center Square. “We are hopeful that there will be legislative support to help address the significant public safety needs within Milwaukee County.”
The spokesperson addressed the necessity of state funds to support judicial and public safety needs, citing the fact that Milwaukee County provides several public safety services that no other county is required to provide, including patrolling state and federal highways within the county.
The new courthouse would be another such service that the county would be mostly responsible for providing.
“This is a multi-generational building that we’re building that will be here for a very long time,” Aaron Hertzberg, director of Milwaukee County’s Department of Administration said at a meeting with the county board’s Committee on Community, Environment and Economic Development.
Hertzberg added that the location of the current Safety Building is the “right site for the long term.”
Kyle Ashley, a spokesperson for the Office of the County Executive, noted that the century-old Safety Building has needed to be updated for several years for public safety standards and that the county could potentially unlock cost savings by eliminating security concerns.
“Because of the infrastructure of [the Safety Building], there are higher staffing needs for bailiffs, particularly in transports,” Ashley said. “This is because we have unsecure pathways in the Safety Building and in the historic courhouse. We have criminal courts in both of those buildings and so we have to have these higher staffing ratios for occupant transports.”
The current building does not meet modern standards for a courthouse, including dedicated passageways for moving defendants in custody, witnesses, or other members of the court. Instead, people attending a specific court hearing in the Safety Building uses the same hallways to get there.
Ashley said because of the Safety Building’s higher security needs, Milwaukee County spends more, requiring a 1:1 ratio of bailiffs to occupants for safe transfer to court.
The 2024 county budget allocated more than $364,000 for hourly bailiff positions, where the standard hourly cost is $33.78-$43.31.
If the county were to build a new courthouse that is up-to-date with modern courthouse standards, where only a 1:5 ratio of bailiffs to occupants would be required for safe transfer to court, they could “unlock” a possible 80% reduction in staff costs for transfers while also further securing public safety needs, according to Ashley.
Additional cost savings would be introduced since the county budgets $500,000 yearly for emergency repairs for the Safety Building and spent almost $3.9 million on utilities for the courthouse complex in 2024.
By achieving an average energy consumption, Ashley said the new courthouse could save Milwaukee County over $880,000 a year.
At the time of publication, the current draft of the biennial budget did not include any funds for the new Milwaukee courthouse.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin diners tipped an average of 20.1% in the first quarter of this year, one of the highest rates in the country, according to data from restaurants that use the Toast platform in each state.
Only 10 states saw higher tip rates, led by West Virginia (21.0%) and New Hampshire (20.9%).
The data came from restaurant diners who used credit card to pay and added a tip on that card.
The average first-quarter tip nationally at full-service restaurants was 19.4%, up from 19.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In Wisconsin, the average tip at full-service restaurants was 20.5% while it was 17.7% at quick service restaurants, where the national average was 15.8%.
The application also compared the cost of an omelette across states, with the average Wisconsin cost at $13.31, up 6% year over year from the first quarter of 2024. The year over year price increase nationally was 5.4% while the two-year national jump was from $13.24 in March 2023 to $14.71 in April 2025.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin’s retiring Supreme Court justice says she supports looking at every way to get money out of the races for the state’s highest court.
Justice Ann Walsh Bradley was a guest on UpFront over the weekend, and talked about how money is playing a role in selecting justices.
“It’s dangerous to the court,” she said. “It’s dangerous to our form of government. You know, one of the reasons we can exist as an institution is because we have the public trust and confidence of the people.”
Wisconsin saw the nation’s two most expensive judicial races, back-to- back.
Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s 2023 race against former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly saw more than $50 million in spending from both the candidates and outside groups. However, that price tag was dwarfed earlier this year when Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel, along with a long list of outside groups, spent nearly $100 million.
Walsh Bradley, whose retirement opened the door for the Crawford- Schimel race, said she supports looking at ways to move money away from judicial elections.
“There are initiatives that are being discussed in the Legislature now,” Walsh Bradley explained. “I think there are public groups that are also discussing some alternatives. They don’t come easily. The United States Supreme Court has a case called Citizens United that equates speech with money, and so there are difficulties in regulating some of this, but that doesn’t mean that it’s an impossible challenge”
Some of the options include changing how judges are elected or possibly appointing judges.
Wisconsin voters will see their next Supreme Court race next spring. They will also see a new Supreme Court race each year until 2030.
Liberals will hold a majority for at least the next three years, as the court’s conservative justices are on the ballot next.
The next race will see Justice Rebecca Bradley run for re-election. She has one, declared opponent. Former Madison lawmaker, and current Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor.
Walsh Bradley will leave the court next month, when Justice-elect Crawford is sworn-in.