MADISON – Today, Governor Tony Evers signed the 2025-27 biennial budget into law as 2025 Wisconsin Act 15. The budget bill includes several wins that Representatives Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek), Bob Wittke (R-Caledonia), and Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) advocated for.
“This Session, my priority has been improving public safety in Milwaukee County. I worked with County Executive David Crowley, my colleagues Sen. Wanggaard, Rep. Wittke, and Rep. Donovan, and my legislative leaders to secure over $40 million in funding for Milwaukee County public safety initiatives,” began Rep. Rodriguez.
The budget, as passed and signed, will reimburse Milwaukee County for highway patrol and allow them to keep one-hundred percent of citation revenue collected via highway patrol.
“Milwaukee County is the only county in the state that performs patrol of expressways themselves. In the 71 other counties, State Patrol patrols the expressways. Under state law, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office bears the responsibility of patrolling our expressways,” explained Rep. Wittke. “This budget will reimburse the county for those services at $18 million in 2025-26, and $20 million in 2026-27 and moving forward. It will also allow the county to keep the citation revenues from expressway patrol.”
“These revenues for Milwaukee County will allow them to reinvest their savings in other public safety initiatives,” continued Rep. Donovan. “One of my priorities has been securing additional Assistant District Attorney positions for our county. The citation revenues provided in this budget will enable the county to pay for 12.5 full-time equivalent Assistant District Attorneys for District Attorney Kent Lovern’s office. This is a huge win for law and order in our region.”
Reps. Rodriguez, Wittke, and Donovan thank their legislative colleagues and the Governor for their support in these efforts. Public safety is paramount, and these investments will go a long way to that end.
