After months of frustration, countless hours of legislative bickering, panoply of press releases and emphatic editorials across the state, our 115 day-long journey has finally come to an end. On Friday, Gov. Jim Doyle announced lawmakers had reached a working compromise to produce a viable 2007-09 Wisconsin state budget.

While we’re inclined to breathe a collective sigh of relief, the end results of the budget merit closer evaluation. With a few notable exceptions, the compromises seem to be the best we could hope for.

As one of the largest stumbling blocks for Republicans, the cigarette tax increase represents an adequate middle ground on a contentious issue. After much deliberation, Assembly Speaker Mike Heubsch, R-West Salem, eventually offered a $.75 increase to counter Mr. Doyle’s $1.25 hike, and the two finally agreed on a $1 increase. This is a reasonable accord and we applaud the concessions made by both sides.

Additionally, we are glad Mr. Doyle’s proposed oil tax did not make the final cut. Mandating that oil companies not pass the tax onto consumers would have been incredibly difficult to enforce, and further, would have likely subjected the state to a protracted and costly legal battle.

We are extremely disappointed in the omission of domestic partnership benefits for all state employees from this budget. We have argued in favor of these benefits several times, noting that University of Wisconsin faculty and employees are leaving the UW System for this very reason. The Legislature’s failure to act on this issue is one of the more regrettable results of the budget compromise.

However, we are encouraged by the decision to significantly increase funding to the UW System as well as to fully fund the UW Growth Agenda. While the conference committee version falls $25 million short of Mr. Doyle’s initial proposal, the UW System seems pleased with the result, and we find no reason to disagree with their position. The Legislature also wisely allocated $10 million for faculty retention efforts at UW.

One inclusion we grudgingly accept is the full restoration of loans for the renovation of Memorial Union and the construction of a new Union South. While we have vehemently opposed these projects as an unnecessary, segregated fee-funded burden, the plan was approved by the student body and by UW administration. Since the campus has already accepted this course of action, the Legislature is right to follow suit.

Given the inclusion of several other UW-Madison building projects, we are disappointed that the proposed Lakeshore dorms were cut from the Assembly version of the budget and not restored in the conference committee version. The funding for this necessary project is essentially a loan guaranteed to be repaid with housing revenue. Considering the annual shortage of housing at UW-Madison, leaving this measure out of the final budget makes little sense.

Although we have our problems with the budget, the end result is a reasonable agreement that we support. Given the threats a budgetless Wisconsin posed to financial aid, transportation projects and property tax levies, among other provisions, the list of concessions has thankfully not compromised the administrative stability of Wisconsin.

With the budget’s passage in the Legislature, all that remains is for Mr. Doyle to press his pen to the paper and sign off on this deal. We only ask that Mr. Doyle spare us all from any further controversy by resisting the urge to use his so-called “Frankenstein veto” on this budget. Wisconsin has labored through enough political hell for one year.

Despite a crisis of epic proportions, this period political of limbo has ended, and Wisconsin is finally back on solid ground. The months-long legislative standoff has finally come to a reasonable end and the day-to-day business of the state of Wisconsin can resume.