On July 22, Gov. Evers announced a directive for state agencies to identify $250 million in additional savings for the current fiscal year (FY 20-21). This is the second round of cuts by the administration to manage state expenditures, as state revenues are down due to pandemic. In April, the governor ordered a five percent cut to state agency spending – totaling $70 million.
Recently, the governor and his Department of Administration (DOA) announced $300 million in savings target for the current FY 20-21 fiscal year. The largest savings is projected to come from the state’s Medicaid program ($120 million), followed by $45 million from the UW System and $28 million from the Department of Corrections.
It is still unclear if the governor’s effort to reduce agency spending will be enough to offset state revenue losses and avoid a budget adjustment bill.