Republicans Accuse Gov. Evers of “bait and switch” with UW Building Projects

UW Construction Delayed

The University of Wisconsin is once again looking at a delay in building a new UW-Madison engineering building, but Republican lawmakers say this delay is entirely the university’s fault.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate on Wednesday voted down a proposal to spend $70 million on four building projects across the UW system.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu scolded UW President Jay Rothman after the vote.

"As I am certain you are aware, the State Building Commission failed to approve a motion to reutilize the $70 million underspend available from the UW-Eau Claire Sciences Building. The vote will delay and imperil three major projects and a series of smaller, all agency, projects. The now delayed projects include the UW-Madison engineering building, which has been a long-time priority for Senate Republicans," LeMahieu wrote in a letter to Rothman. "The Senate members’ No vote stemmed from UW officials’ lack of transparency and an inability or unwillingness to answer critical questions relating to these projects. Refusing to answer questions creates an adversarial relationship between the UW and the legislature that benefits neither us, nor the taxpayers who invest billions of their hard-earned dollars in your system each year."

Sen. Andre Jacque, R-DePere, called the UW’s request a “bait and switch.”

“I am floored that bids for the UW-Eau Claire project came back more than $70 Million, more than 20%-below, what was expected all the way back in March of this year, and we didn’t hear a peep about it from DOA until last week,” Jacque said. “Apparently [the Department of Administration] and the UW have been working for months on plans to re-spend the money, but no one in the legislature was consulted until now. And I’m even more stunned that we are now immediately being asked to spend all of this cash right away on a Christmas tree of items without that discussion with the legislature that appropriated the funds in the first place, in order to keep that money from potentially being saved up or returned to the taxpayers. “

Gov. Evers said the university was simply looking to move unspent money to other projects. On Thursday he said the no vote on the $70 million will put a handful of UW building projects in jeopardy.

“The more than $70 million available would have been reallocated to projects already approved by the Commission, including $10.5 million for the Winther and Heide Hall projects at UW-Whitewater, $5.4 million for Heritage Hall at UW-Stout, and $29 million for the new engineering building at UW-Madison, which already faced months of partisan delays. Finally, $25 million of the $70 million would have been reallocated for several other small projects across the system to address the repair and maintenance of university facilities,” Evers said in a statement.

LeMahieu, however, said the issue is much bigger than $70 million and few weeks of delays.

“The legislature is about to enter budget deliberations. The UW-System has requested nearly a billion dollars in new taxpayer resources despite shrinking enrollments and the closure of campuses. Taxpayers will rightfully demand transparency and candor from you and your representatives moving forward,” LeMahieu added in his letter. “Once the UW-System has provided building commission members with adequate answers, I am hopeful that a motion to approve the engineering building at UW-Madison can be approved at a later date.”