UW-Madison professor of public affairs and applied economics Andrew Reschovsky predicted the Wisconsin deficit to increase to $3.1 billion in the next biennium.
In a report released this week, Reschovsky used the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau's evaluation of the state's fiscal condition and then factored in the cost of maintaining public services at the level they are now.
The LFB projected a deficit of $2.88 billion for the next biennium, which accounts for the budget between 2011-2013.
Reschovsky said in order to maintain major public services such as education and medical assistance, spending will need to increase by 1.75 percent a year on the conservative end. The average yearly rate of growth since 2000 is 2.5 percent.
""There are two reasons why the cost of public service grows over time. First, the state's population is growing,"" he wrote. ""Second, the state government has limited control over the prices it must pay to purchase goods and services.""
Although Reschovsky said greater efficiency in spending could help reduce the deficit, more needs to be done.
""Policymakers will need to close the fiscal deficit by cutting spending, increasing state revenues, or a combination of the two approaches,"" he said.
