Walker Proposes Other Changes to Budget that Increase General Fund Balance by $132,600

MacIver News Service | April 24, 2013

[Madison, Wisc…] Department of Administration (DOA) Secretary Mike Huebsch sent a letter to the Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Finance, Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Falls) and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), on Tuesday to outline modifications that Governor Scott Walker would like to see in the state budget bill.

Typically modifications are necessary due to changes in revenue estimates or to clarify the intent of the original proposal from the Governor.

The letter also stated that “the Governor will be submitting a second letter in the near future outlining a proposal for additional changes to the budget bill,” specifically relating to the appropriations for the University of Wisconsin System.

Governor Walker’s office clarified that the second letter regarding the UW System should be sent in the next week or two.

The Governor is expected to make changes to his original proposal in light of the controversy over the UW System’s massive surplus. The MacIver News Service reported last Friday that while the UW System continued to hike tuition and ask for more taxpayer funds, they were stockpiling over $1 billion in cash reserves.

The current letter outlined multiple changes to the Governor’s original recommendations. With all the modifications in place, the general fund balance for the biennial budget will increase by $132,600.

Due to reestimated revenues and expenditures for the Department of Children and Families, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program will end fiscal year 2014-2015 with a balance of $8.2 million. The Governor is recommending that “approximately $4.4 million be used to expand transitional jobs to other high need urban areas in the state,” and to “provide additional funding for child care rates.”

The letter also makes small adjustments to the provision in the budget regarding the sale of state-owned assets including that DOA can only contract with purchasers on the “output of a heating, cooling, or power plant.”

The full letter from Sec. Huebsch can be seen here.