Governor Tony Evers and Wausau Mayor Doug Diny. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Governor Tony Evers has kicked off his 5th annual Pothole Patrol tour with a stop in Wausau.
The Governor joined Mayor Doug Diny and the City’s Public Works staff to fill a handful of potholes near Forest and Jackson Streets, including what he said were “some of the biggest potholes I’ve ever seen in my life.
“It’s really simple. Fixing the damn roads is something that if you are a Republican, Democrat, or neither- you want to drive on decent roads. It’s also a safety issue,” added Evers, inserting one of his signature catch phrases. “The bottom line is around safety.”
He praised a proposed 3% increase in road funding in the next two-year state budget. “That’ll help local folks do the job. Great work here in Wausau, I’m really proud of the work that they are doing.”
Evers says he’d like to see up to 2,000 miles of road work completed every spring and summer, from highway reconstructions to local projects.
BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE
As for what the rest of the 2025-2027 state budget will look like, Evers says that remains to be seen. He’s had one meeting with leaders on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, along with some staff discussions, but right now it’s too soon to say what the final product will look like.
“We’ll be meeting again in the near future, sometime this week or next week. I’d say [the negotiations] are going alright, we do have some differences on what kind of tax relif we will have,” said Evers.
He adds that his priorities remain education funding, both at the local and university levels. “We have a long ways to go, but last [time] we made it happen and we will do it this year, too. I feel good about it.”
When asked if he had an idea of where taxes could be in the new budget, Evers said, “I’m not sure where that middle ground is going to be.”
The current two-year spending plan ends on June 30th. If a new one is not in place at that time, spending automatically reverts to the previous two-year budget.
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