CONTACT: State Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), 608-266-5830
State Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette), 608-266-2343
Madison—The Co-Chairs of the budget-writing, Joint Committee on Finance, Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) released the following statement in reaction to the release of the Comprehensive Annual Fiscal Report (CAFR):
“This report confirms what we already know – Wisconsin remains on strong fiscal ground. Through Governor Walker’s leadership and Republican fiscal reforms in the Joint Committee on Finance, Wisconsin ended every budget year with a surplus.
On Wednesday, the Department of Administration released the CAFR. The report indicates that Wisconsin ended the 2017 fiscal year with a positive General Fund undesignated balance of $579 million.
We cut taxes by $8 billion, delivered the largest real dollar investment in K-12 education in state history, and three national agencies upgraded our bond rating. Long gone are the days of raiding funds in order to balance budgets. We made common-sense fiscal reforms to ensure that the future of Wisconsin is bright.
Wisconsinites know that their tax dollars are being used as effectively and responsibly as possible by the State. Too often it is forgotten in Madison that surpluses belong to the people. It’s is not our money, it’s yours. We look forward to continuing to put taxpayers first.”