Racine Sun

Racine Mayor Cory Mason isn’t shy about singing the praises of Gov. Tony Evers when it comes to the issue of funding for public services.

“Today I met with @GovEvers & other Mayors to stress the importance of funding police, fire, & essential local services,” Mason recently posted on Twitter. “@GovEvers has been a real leader on local funding. Now we need Republican legislative leaders to agree.”

With a budget surplus of some $7 billion now in the coffers, AP News reported that Evers recently hosted mayors from the state’s five largest cities to discuss how the funds should best be used and to determine how much funding local governments should be receiving from the state.

After being elected to a second term and delivering his inaugural speech to residents, Evers has already highlighted public safety as a major plan in his platform. On his website, the governor pointed to how his administration invested upwards of $100 million to public safety programs during his first term. In addition, he noted the way his administration provided funding for every local and tribal law enforcement agency to support first responders.

"We need generational, transformative improvements as to how we invest in our local communities and keep them safe—and to ensure they can respond to basic and unique needs alike,” Evers said during his Jan. 3 inauguration speech. “So let's keep working together on a plan. Because while one person alone cannot right the disinvestment local communities have seen over the last decade, together we will."