MADISON, WI (WHBL) - The Joint Finance Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday, and they could decide if they will go with Governor Scott Walker’s request to borrow more money to pay for road projects across the state.
While not on the committee, area state Senator Devin LeMahieu could be considered part of the group that is hesitant to borrow more. "I don’t think we can just do it on borrowing alone, because that becomes unsustainable at some point. We just keep kicking the can down the road and borrowing more money."
However, LeMahieu has reservations on how to raise the additional money. He says he is not in favor of only raising the gas tax to cover the over one-billion dollars requested by Governor Scott Walker when the budget was proposed earlier this year. "That’d be 19 cents a gallon; which is a lot of money for consumers spread throughout the year."
LeMahieu says he will support plans to delay projects and funding in the Department of Transportation when it can be done with no impact on services. Still, he also says finding a reliable funding source is necessary to avoid future shortfalls and delays.
The Joint Finance Committee's decision could be to increase borrowing by up to 350 million dollars through mid-2017. Approval of this decision would shorten delays announced by the Department of Transportation to five major road projects. One of those projects is the Highway 23 expansion project between Plymouth and Fond du Lac.