(The Center Square) – Wisconsin is ending 2022 with a record amount of money in the bank.
Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday said the state is ending the year with a record $4.6 billion in its general fund. The cash is part of what is expected to be a record $6.6 billion budget surplus by the end of next year, and an even larger $8.4 billion surplus by the end of the year after that.
Both Republicans and Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol took credit for the savings.
The governor says he moved Wisconsin into its better fiscal position.
“When I took office our GAAP balance was in a deficit, but we’ve worked hard since to put our state in a stronger fiscal position moving forward, and for the past two years this report has demonstrated that we are doing just that,” Evers said in a statement. “Wisconsin is in the best fiscal position we’ve ever seen, and this year’s remarkable increase is another positive indicator that we are headed in the right direction.”
But Republican lawmakers say it was their policies that actually moved the state forward.
Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, who sits on the powerful, budget-writing Joint Finance Committee said Republicans have managed Wisconsin’s finances well for over a decade now.
“The recent release of the state’s audited financial statements continues the trend of positive reports we have received for the past 12 years. When I was elected to the legislature, we had a $3.0 billion deficit. We have made remarkable, consistent progress since Republicans have had control of the state’s checkbook,” Marklein added.
Both Republican lawmakers and Gov. Evers are now talking about what to do with Wisconsin’s record amount of money.
