State DOT Officials Seek $580M From General Fund

Taxes and fees might grab the most attention in the state Department of Transportation’s proposed budget, but DOT officials also want to continue tapping a fund that used to be off limits.

During Gov. Jim Doyle’s eight years in office, the state of Wisconsin took more than $1.4 billion out of the transportation fund to pay for other bills. Gov. Scott Walker flipped that around in his first term, spending nearly $400 million out of the general fund to pay for transportation.

Walker’s DOT now wants to spend another $580 million out of the general fund, which Jon Peacock, of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, said he has real world ramifications.

“If the DOT request is approved, it will divert funding from things like education and health care, which are critical investments for the state’s future economic prosperity,” said Peacock.

DOT officials said that without extra revenue from sources like the general fund, highways will deteriorate.