MON AM News: LAB report recommends ‘improvements’ for WEDC processes; Dem bill would provide matching grants for county-level health workforce investments

November 24, 2025

— The Legislative Audit Bureau is recommending WEDC establish a written policy for when it should revoke tax credits after recipients don’t meet the terms of their contract.

LAB on Friday released its latest report on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., which includes 14 recommendations for improvements as well as an overview of the agency’s program activities for fiscal year 2023-2024.

Following earlier reports from the bureau, WEDC had revised its process for verifying tax credits to require a notice of default and pending revocation to be sent to recipients that fail to create or retain enough jobs in time to fulfill their contract with the agency, authors noted.

“However, we found that WEDC’s policies did not specify a time by which WEDC should revoke tax credits for recipients that do not meet contractual obligations,” they wrote, noting the agency said it set a goal in fiscal year 2021-2022 to close awards within 90 days of their end date.

LAB reviewed 46 tax credit awards with job requirements the agency closed in the last six months of fiscal year 2023-2024 and the first six months of fiscal year 2024-2025, the report shows. WEDC revoked tax credits from 14 recipients of these awards after they failed to meet their contract terms, the review found.

While the agency revoked tax credits from 11 of those recipients before the end date outlined in the contracts for the awards, WEDC also waited an average of 1.6 years to revoke tax credits for three of the 14 recipients, LAB found.

These revocations included: $389,200 in tax credits 287 days after the award had ended; $375,000 in tax credits 299 days after the award had ended; and $68,500 in tax credits more than three years after the award had ended.

Along with its recommendation on creating a specific timeline for revoking tax credits when awardees don’t meet their contract terms, LAB also says WEDC should “then consistently comply with its written policies” by revoking credits within that time frame.

“Doing so will help to ensure that WEDC recovers taxpayer funds in a timely manner and tax credit recipients do not pay unnecessary amounts of interest on revoked tax credits,” authors wrote.

The 80-page report contains more recommendations around improving the accuracy of WEDC’s annual reporting, developing quantifyable “impact goals” for programs without job creation and retention goals and others.

See the agency’s release and a list of recommendations.

— Dem lawmakers are circulating legislation that would provide grants to match counties’ investments in the health workforce.

Reps. Mike Bare of Verona, Jodi Emerson of Eau Claire and Alex Joers of Waunakee, as well as Sen. Dianne Hesselbein of Middleton, recently sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers on the bill.

Under the legislation, the state Department of Health Services would be required to award grants to counties matching any investments they made in the previous fiscal year across various elements of the health workforce. That can include recruitment and retention efforts, mental health, trauma care and prevention, or wellness of workers across public health, child care, long-term care and health care more broadly.

Grants would be limited to $1.11 multiplied by the recipient county’s population, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Authors say workers providing care and keeping communities safe “must themselves be well” in order to deliver quality health care.

“Hundreds of billions of dollars were spent to help our communities as they endured and recovered from the pandemic, but there were almost no public investments in our health care and public health heroes,” they wrote.

The memo notes a Dane County Board subcommittee investigation from 2022 led to $621,000 being spent on a “groundbreaking” trauma recovery program to support health workers. With a population of about 560,000 based on the 2020 census, the maximum grant that would be provided under the proposed program would be just over $620,000.

Authors say grants like this would “help counties from across the state create similar programs to support their public health workforce that are critical to the success of all communities — rural, urban and suburban alike.”

The co-sponsorship deadline is 5 p.m. Friday.

See the bill text.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport is launching two “major strategic studies” to guide the airport’s future development.

Airport officials on Friday announced the Terminal Master Plan study, which will seek to evaluate terminal facility needs and areas of improvement for passenger amenities. The study is gathering feedback from business partners, airport tenants and others in the community.

Meanwhile, a Land Development Plan study is eyeing surrounding properties near the airport for potential projects. Airport officials say this plan aims to align with potential developers “ to create spaces that enhance both airport operations” as well the local economy.

“These studies are key to ensuring that airports align with the communities they serve,” Airport Director Marty Piette said in a statement. “By using data and community input, we can make informed decisions — avoiding overbuilding and minimizing financial waste — while ensuring GRB continues to grow responsibly.”

See more in the release.

— Doyenne Group co-founder Heather Wentler announced that she will be stepping down as executive director after nearly 14 years of leadership.

Wentler co-founded Doyenne with the late Amy Gannon in 2012 after recognizing the lack of women participating in Madison’s startup events. The group aims to support underrepresented entrepreneurs in Wisconsin through events, accelerator programs and other activities.

“It has been an honor to lead this organization and collaborate with so many of you across Wisconsin and around the world,” Wentler said in a blog post. “I am thrilled about what is next for me, which I will share more about soon, and equally excited for what is next for Doyenne. I know the organization will continue to grow, evolve and push boundaries in ways that advance equity and opportunity for entrepreneurs everywhere.”

Doyenne Group is seeking to replace Wentler by January 2026.

Listen to an earlier WisBusiness podcast with Wentler.

See more at Madison Startups.

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