Washington Island Electric Cooperative manager Robert Cornell hopes a budget passed by the Wisconsin Legislature will help address the damage done by last year’s power outage. Governor Tony Evers’ budget currently includes $2 million in funding to offset some of the replacement costs of the submarine cable damaged last summer. Island residents have already seen their bill from the cooperative jump $20 a month for the next 30 years to pay for some of the costs. Cornell and others have worked with state officials including First District Senator Andre Jacque and Rep. Joel Kitchens to get the request this far. He says the support from the community and electric cooperatives around the state has been strong.
You can voice your support for the $2 million in funding to be included in the next biennial budget by sending an email to the Joint Finance Committee or attend their next hearing session on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Phoenix Rooms at the UW-Green Bay University Union. The budget could be done as soon as July 1st, but Cornell admits it could be as late as October before a final draft is approved.
