Evers makes one last ask of Republicans to take property tax relief seriously

School districts dealt with legislative underfunding long before the “400-year” veto GOP lawmakers blame for a record number of referendums.

Gov. Tony Evers had a simple plea for Republicans on property tax relief as the Legislature sets its agenda in the final year of his time in office.

“Let’s just get it done.”

Evers held a news conference Monday to outline his priorities for the Assembly and Senate, which are quite similar to the requests he’s made multiple times — only to see Republicans choose rejection rather than negotiation. 

“We have a year left,” Evers said. “All the things that we need to be addressed, many of them can be.”

New state figures show the fiscal ability to provide property tax relief, with Evers announcing state revenue for 2025-27 is forecast to be around $1 billion higher than previously estimated. 

At the start of last year’s state budget process, for example, Evers suggested funding an incentive program that would make state payments to counties and local governments that froze their property tax levy from the previous year. The governor also proposed a larger levy tax credit — money that would go toward reducing property taxes rather than directly to schools — as well as large increases in direct general school aid and categorical school aid for specific items like special education.

Republicans eventually negotiated a final budget bill with Evers that provided no increase in general school aid and just a modest increase in special education funds. The state government has now gone 16 years with state general aid failing to keep pace with inflation. That left local school districts to make up the difference. As a result, property taxes supporting K-12 education increased at the highest rate in about three decades, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum. 

Republicans say the problem isn’t underfunding from the Legislature but instead the result of an Evers 2023 state budget veto that mandated an annual increase in the potential taxing ability of local school districts. The way the veto was created, through striking individual digits in the bill, means the increase in taxing potential is in place until 2425.

Evers, like many public school advocates, isn’t buying the Republican excuse.

“Look, I get it: Republicans love to blame my 400-year veto for property taxes going up,” Evers said. “The problem with that is Wiscosinites were going to referendum before increasing the number of years — long before. The question would be why? Because of a decade of Republicans consistently failing to meaningfully invest in our kids and K-12 schools. That has consequences including forcing Wisconsinites to raise their own property taxes.” 

Republican tax relief proposals have largely been focused on the state income tax and exemptions to income and sales taxes. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos rejected Evers’ latest call for property tax relief, telling WisPolitics all Evers is doing is trying to “backfill his mistake,” referencing the 400-year veto.

In a letter to legislators, Evers shared his ongoing list of other policy requests before stepping down after two terms. It includes increased health insurance coverage through BadgerCare for new moms, cracking down on health insurance companies that engage in serial claims rejections and price gouging, reauthorizing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship land conservation program, restoring funds for assisting homeless veterans, and improving state programs to detect and clean up or mitigate PFAS industrial chemicals in drinking water.

Related: Here’s the real reason your property tax bill is likely much higher — and it’s not ‘the 400-year veto’