March 6, 2019 at 5:49 p.m.
Governor Evers visits the Northwoods
A new Office of Outdoor Recreation aims to boost tourism
Governor Evers visits the Northwoods
By Mario Koran-
So said incoming DNR Secretary Preston Cole this week when he - along with Governor Tony Evers and the Department of Tourism's designee-secretary - visited Rhinelander to tout a newly established Office of Outdoor Recreation.
Hodag country was one stop on a statewide tour Evers made Tuesday to shore up support for his $83 billion budget proposal. Part of the plan will include an additional $5 million over the next two years for the Department of Tourism - money that will go toward marketing Wisconsin as a top vacation destination.
"This is a great state. It's a great state to make that connection between tourism and natural resources," said Evers, adding that tourism is the state's third largest industry and generates $20.6 billion in revenue each year.
"Tourism sees a $7 to $1 return on investment, which is hard to beat," Evers said.
To build on that investment, Evers is creating the Office of Outdoor Recreation, part of the Department of Tourism and the first of its kind in the Midwest.
Sara Meaney, Secretary-designee of Department of Tourism, said the office will take a "cutting edge approach to tourism," leveraging the state's natural resources to lure visitors, create jobs and generate revenue for local economies.
Neighboring Midwestern states are beginning to see the value in promoting outdoor recreation, Meaney said, and acting quickly will give Wisconsin the advantage in cornering the market.
"Make no mistake, we want to win the race against our competitors to the outdoor recreation space," she said. "It's a very important piece of the tourism pie."
Meaney pointed to figures from the Outdoor Industry Association that attribute to outdoor recreation 168,000 jobs, $5.1 billion in wages and salaries and $1.1 billion in state and local tax revenue in Wisconsin annually.
"You're in snow country right now. God bless the folks who live here," said DNR Secretary Designee Cole, nodding to the four feet of snow that buried the Northwoods in recent weeks.
"The businesses are open, the snowmobile trails are working, the restaurants are open. You know what that economy means here, locally? It's a big deal," Cole said.
Meaney said in the months ahead the Department of Tourism will decide which geographic areas to target with the proposed $5 million it will have for marketing recreation in Wisconsin.
Republicans have vowed to scrap Evers' budget plan and the $1 billion in tax increases it calls for.
Among other budget-related items Evers addressed at Tuesday's press conference:
Increase special education funding
Evers' budget proposal calls for an unprecedented $600 million in special education funding, an issue especially important for rural school districts where fewer students means less revenue.
Because special education costs have not kept pace with inflation, many rural districts spend significantly more in special education services than state and federal dollars provide. The four school districts with the largest gap between revenue and reimbursements are located in the northern half of the state.
To cover the gap, districts must dip into general revenue, which threatens other services. On Tuesday, Evers said the $600 million would be provided in both general and categorical aid, meaning it has to be spent on special education services. Rural districts may also see a scarcity aid - additional funding for school districts with less per-pupil funding.
"I've always believed that what is best for our kids is best for our state, and if a kid needs an extra lift they should get an extra lift, and if an extra lift costs money, then we should have more money for those children,' Evers said.
More funding for public defenders, assistant district attorneys
The budget plans calls for an increase in pay for private attorneys who represent indigent clients.
Wisconsin currently reimburses public defenders $40 an hour - the lowest rate in the nation. Courts can struggle to find attorneys willing to take cases that reimburse at such low rates, sometimes forcing defendants to wait in jail for long stretches before seeing a judge.
The proposal calls for public defender pay to be increased to $70 an hour. Evers is also recommending funding for pay progression in order to retain assistant district attorneys.
Evers said it is unfair that defendants in northern Wisconsin lack the same access to representation they would have if they lived in Dane County.
"We have to close that gap and we think that raising hourly pay wil help," Evers said.
Mario Koran may be reached via email at [email protected].
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