Hi, this is Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Agard with this week’s Democratic Radio Address.
Wisconsin local governments are responsible for providing critical law enforcement, fire protection, and EMS services to their communities. These essential services prioritize the well-being of all and keep us safe.
Unfortunately, in recent years local governments have struggled to provide fair compensation to their public safety professionals and quality services to their communities because legislative Republicans have cut shared revenue payments by 9 percent while public safety costs increased by more than 16 percent.
Municipalities have worked diligently to stretch every dollar they receive, but they are still coming up short. In 2022 alone, more than 30 municipalities asked residents to backfill the inadequacies in public safety funding that was gutted by Wisconsin Republicans.
Ensuring the public’s safety should be a top priority for every lawmaker. Governor Evers has already announced that he would use a portion of the state’s 6.6 billion dollar surplus to provide local governments with the resources they need.
This should not be a “Republican” or “Democrat” issue. I am hopeful that my Republican colleagues will join me in supporting Governor Evers’ vital investment in public safety.
