GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Governor Tony Evers made a stop at LiveX on Wednesday after signing the 2023 to 2025 biennial budget.
The two-year spending plan includes investments in statewide key issues like public education, affordable housing and infrastructure.
More than $1 billion will go toward public schools, an increase 10 times larger than the last two-year budget. This money will go toward improving K-12 reading and literacy, school mental health services and special education.
Affordable child care and housing are also part of the budget, two issues Mayor Eric Genrich said affect families living in Green Bay.
Green Bay will also see $1.2 million from the budget, allocated for the Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge.
"Over $3 million has been allocated to the City of Green Bay through the shared revenue program, so that's a program that hasn't seen any kind of an increase in the last couple of decades," Genrich said. "To see that level of increase, a 20% bump for us here, it's going to enable us to continue to make investments in police and fire and also some infrastructural upgrades."
Of the budget, $125 million will go toward addressing and preventing PFAS, which Wisconsin State Senator Eric Wimberger of District 30 said should be a priority.
"Part of my district, in the Marinette area, but all throughout the state...what you have are some bile solids being spread on farm fields that contain a lot of PFAS, and a lot of people need help there, so I'm glad that came across the finish line too," Wimberger said.
Evers made 51 partial vetoes to the Republican-authored budget, which he called "imperfect and incomplete."
