(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto to lower the daily cost of housing juvenile offenders for counties by $2,000 has created a “$34 million hole” in the state’s Department of Corrections budget, according to Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine.
While the Legislature had approved a provision in the 2025-27 biennial budget to raise the county cost of maximum-security, long-term juvenile housing to $2,501 per person in 2025-26 and $2,758 in 2026-27, Evers’ veto established a new rate of $501 per person in 2025-26 and $758 in 2026-27, cutting the Legislature’s costs by $2,000 exactly.
The lower rate would allow counties to pay less to house inmates, but would force the state to take up the remainder of the costs.
According to documents first released to The Center Square, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated the cost shift would force the state to pay $34.4 million from 2025-27, or 75% of the cost to incarcerate juvenile inmates.
No funds were allocated for the state to cover that cost.
“Evers’ veto of this provision is unsustainable and he knows it,” said Wanggaard, chairman of the state Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
According to Wanggaard, the statutory daily rate is “simple math,” determined by the total cost to operate juvenile facilities divided by the average population.
Wanggaard criticized Evers’ decision to “unilaterally” veto the county’s expenses and make the state pay up more without the Legislature’s approval.
“It flips the entire funding of juvenile corrections without debate or discussion,” Wanggaard said. “It’s irresponsible.”
However, Evers said the Legislature-approved rate of $2,501 and $2,578 over the biennium was too much for counties since it would have increased the current $1,268 daily rate by more than $1,000 per day.
“This increase and funding model is untenable, and counties have expressed that this unaffordable increase will have serious and detrimental effects on other county services,” Evers said in his veto message. “With this veto, I am establishing daily rates while still ensuring it is manageable for local partners.”
The veto came after the Legislature also approved more than $27 million to provide funding and staffing for a new maximum-security juvenile detention facility in Milwaukee.
