CONTACT: Senator Howard Marklein, 608-266-0703
Madison, WI – Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and nine Republican Senators sent a letter to Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary-Designee Craig Thompson to encourage him to spend the $75 million in the State Budget that was meant to fund local road improvement on – local roads – as they intended.
“The Senate Republicans worked hard to create a local road funding package for the state budget that would have a strong, meaningful, immediate impact on our local roads,” Marklein said. “Our constituents told us that this is one of their top priorities and we responded with a thoughtful, strong investment.”
“We started with $133 million for local roads, which was then compromised to $90 million to be divided among the towns, counties, cities and villages for local road maintenance and repair. This is what the legislature passed in our budget.”
“Unfortunately, Governor Tony Evers shaved $15 million off of these dollars and further vetoed all of the language to direct the funding to local roads. We have been concerned that the DOT will not spend the remaining $75 million on local roads. The letter we sent today clarifies the legislative intent of our votes on the state budget and encourages the DOT to follow-through with this strong investment to fix our local roads.”
“People throughout the state told us that they want their roads fixed. The legislature answered this call with a big investment that would send the money to projects that will matter to the people we serve. We have asked the DOT to honor this commitment and follow-through. We are optimistic that they will.”
Marklein represents the 17th Senate District, which includes all or parts Grant, Green, Iowa, Juneau, Lafayette, Monroe, Richland, Sauk and Vernon counties. Marklein serves on the legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee and is Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Revenue & Financial Institutions.
