WCA Call to Action: Pass a Sustainable Transportation Funding Resolution
On January 12, 2026, the Wisconsin Counties Association rolled out their first step in a multi faceted, coalition campaign urging lawmakers and future Governors to find a solution that ensures sustainable transportation funding.
What does this mean? When the state government allocates funding to locals, they can do it in a few different ways.
- General Purpose Revenue: primarily income and sales tax collected by the state.
- Program Revenue: primarily user fees that go toward a specific line item appropriation.
- Segregated Revenue: primarily user fees that go into a specified larger appropriation.
Transportation funding to locals is through the Segregated Transportation Fund. The state collects user fees (gas tax, registration fees, etc.) and that revenue is segregated into its own account, which is then used to fund local transportation programs.
- We have an unsustainable funding gap in the state’s Transportation Fund.
- This gap has been filled over the last few biennia with state sales and income tax dollars.
- The state won’t always have a surplus that can fill this over $1 billion gap.
- We need lawmakers and future governors to address the issue by finding a sustainable solution.
- Increased funding for transportation is crucial for continued increases in LRIP, LRIP-S, GTA, ARIP, and 6-20 structures.
OUR ASK
The below model resolution does not call for lawmakers to pick one solution over another, it simply calls for a solution. Our collective effort will show that counties throughout the state believe this issue needs to be addressed in the next budget. We need all counties to pass this resolution by the end of April 2026.
BACKGROUND
Over the past few biennia, the Transportation Fund has had an unsustainable funding gap, meaning the Legislature has had to transfer General Purpose Revenue (primarily the state income and sales tax) into the Transportation Fund to pay for all of its obligations.
For county government purposes, those obligations are General Transportation Aids (GTA), Local Road Improvement Program – Supplemental (LRIP-S), Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP), Agriculture Road Improvement Program (ARIP), and new funding this biennium for the replacement and rehabilitation of 6–20-foot bridges.
While we’re extremely appreciative that lawmakers and the current administration have continued to prioritize transportation in a bipartisan fashion, we’re also cognizant that these increases to local transportation programs will not continue if a state surplus isn’t available.
Our hope is to have as many resolutions passed by the end of April, so we have them in hand when we move into phase two: legislative meetings and candidate forums.
QUESTIONS?
Contact WCA Government Affairs Associate Collin Driscoll via email or at 866.404.2700.