Evers’ WisDOT pick likely to face resistance over road spending

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A task force convened to solve Wisconsin’s transportation woes had yet to begin its work on Thursday when the state’s transportation chief suggested tax increases could be on the table.

Newly elected Gov. Tony Evers has called the group’s work a bipartisan effort to improve the state’s crumbling roads. On Thursday, Evers’ pick for Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary, Craig Thompson, hinted strongly at a press event before the task force’s first meeting that a tax or fee increase of some sort will be needed to meet the governor’s goals.

“I do believe that the current revenue we have we will not be able to significantly improve conditions and increase access to transit and some of the other things we need to do,” Thompson told reporters before the event. “So I do believe we are going to need more revenue.”

The 34-member transportation task force is scheduled to meet next on Monday in La Crosse. WisDOT officials will then “evaluate the group’s feedback,” said Kristin McHugh, a WisDOT spokeswoman. Thompson will use the task force’s advice to deliver a recommendation to Evers before he releases his full biennial budget proposal in late February or early March.

“The task force consists of key partners from all regions of the state, all sectors of the economy and users of all different modes of transportation,” McHugh said. “They are experts who understand the importance of finding long-term, sustainable solutions to address the state’s transportation system needs.”

In recent years, Wisconsin has slipped in national rankings of road quality. Evers was quick to criticize his predecessor, Scott Walker, on the campaign trail for letting the state’s roads fall into disrepair, even as he offered few specifics about how he’d pay for needed work.

Any proposal Evers puts forward can’t take effect without first being approved by the Republican-controlled state Legislature. Evers is particularly likely to run into trouble in the state Senate, where various GOP lawmakers have long been skeptical of attempts to raise taxes.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, said in a statement Friday that he was dismayed Thompson would suggest more revenue is needed to pay for transportation even before his new group had met for the first time. He cited a recent Marquette University Law School poll finding that support is lukewarm at best for raising taxes to pay for infrastructure. The poll, released on Jan. 24, found 52 percent of the respondents were opposed to the possibility of paying higher taxes for roads.

“I had hoped that we would explore all the options, so I find it troubling that during the first meeting of this task force Secretary Designee Craig Thompson is already advocating to raise taxes on Wisconsin’s working class families,” Stroebel said. “These statements show the Evers administration is intent on raising taxes on Wisconsinites even before the task force fully considers the issue.”

Stroebel and other Republican leaders have also criticized Thompson for his previous work as a lobbyist at the Wisconsin Transportation Development Association. Thompson, who can’t become WisDOT secretary without first being confirmed by the Senate, had been among the critics of former Gov. Scott Walker’s transportation policies. During his time there, Thompson had started a campaign, called “Just Fix It,” to urge local governments to pass non-binding resolutions calling on state lawmakers to find a “sustainable transportation solution.”

According to documents released along with the task force’s meeting on Thursday, the state is faced with a number of obstacles that will make it hard to draw up a budget that would improve the condition of Wisconsin roadways. Revenue growth from the state’s fuel tax and vehicle-registration fees has slowed in recent years and WisDOT has relied increasingly on borrowing and cash infusions from the state’s general fund. Inflation, meanwhile, has eaten away at the state’s purchasing power.

One often-cited cause of strain on Wisconsin’s transportation budget is the state’s long-frozen gas tax. This tax has not been raised since the legislature abolished automatic annual increases in 2006. The state’s gas tax would be 36 percent higher this year if the annual increases had continued, according to task-force documents.

The task force is only the latest group to study Wisconsin’s transportation troubles. The similar groups convened this past decade have all concluded the state needs more money to pay for road projects.

Others, though, are skeptical.

John Schulze, director of legal and government affairs for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, said new taxes aren’t the only way to save money in the state’s transportation budget. The ABC, which largely represents nonunion contractors, was not asked to participate in the task force.

“My unsolicited advice is to continue to find efficiencies and cost savings like the successful repeal of prevailing wage that increases competition for projects while maintaining quality and safety,” Schulze said. Follow @natebeck9