Madison Mayor releases proposed 2024 operating budget

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has released her proposed 2024 operating budget, warning that the city could be facing a major fiscal cliff within the next decade.

The operating budget covers day-to-day expenses, such as staff salaries and benefits. This year’s operating budget comes to over $404 million, a 5.8% increase over last year’s budget. 

The budget includes a mass 1% budget decrease to all city agencies, saving the city around $3 million. Still, this year’s operating budget is the largest in the city’s history. 

The Madison Police Department takes the largest slice of the cake in this year’s budget, receiving over $93 million, or around 23% of the total budget. The department is expected to see an over $1 million increase over last year’s budget. 

The budget includes a 6% pay raise for non-union city employees, and a 3% raise for public safety employees.

The budget also includes several new positions within all departments of city staff. These include a new EMS coordinator position within the city’s fire department to assist the CARES program, a combined park ranger and parking enforcement position to help patrol city parks overnight, and several new positions to help the rollout of Bus Rapid Transit next year. 

The budget includes over $3 million dollars to help facilitate safe and fair elections in Madison. In her executive budget summary, Rhodes-Conway says that this will ensure the city has enough polling places for next year’s elections, and helps ensure that all residents who are eligible to vote are able to.

Still, Rhodes-Conway warns that 2024 is the final year the city will be able to utilize federal funding approved during the early days of the COVID pandemic. If the city were to continue operating at the same level that it is today without increases in revenue, the city is facing a $75 million budget shortfall by 2029.

Rhodes-Conway says that the shared revenue bill passed by the legislature earlier this year stiffed Madison.

The budget is set to be introduced Tuesday evening, and will undergo several public information hearings. The Common Council will have the opportunity to remove or amend the budget, and are set to pass the budget next month.