City-County Building
Common Council

Week of July 7th

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Dear District 16 Residents,

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend celebrating the Fourth of July and were able to spend time with your families and loved ones.

Disability Pride Flag Madison

First, I want to wish everyone a Happy Disability Pride Month. Disability Pride Month celebrates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law on July 26th, 1990. This past Tuesday, I was proud to join disability rights leaders and my collogues on the common council to raise the Disability Pride flag over City Hall for the first time. As federal funding for care and accommodations is being threatened, shows of public support are now more important than ever.

I also want to highlight the Wisconsin State Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which restored access to reproductive health care and abortion services in Wisconsin. I am a firm believer that all Wisconsinites should be able to make their own health care decision’s – including when and how to start a family. You can read more about the decision here. 

As a reminder, the upcoming public information meeting on the redesign of South Stoughton Road will be held on July 15th from 5:30-7:30pm at LaFollette Highschool cafeteria.  And on Monday July 7th, the Plan Commission will meet to discuss the new Housing Forward proposals before they go to the Common Council for final approval on July 15th. 

As always please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I am eager to hear from you!

- Sean

State Budget and City Lobbying Efforts:

As many of you are aware, Governor Tony Evers and State Senate leadership came to a budget deal earlier this week. It may seem odd that a local official is talking about state policy, but this budget will have a profound impact on our schools and local government funding.

In the 2025-27 state budget, $14 million over the biennium was appropriated for Municipal Service Payments. Of this, the city of Madison will only be getting about $6 million, or about $3 million each year. Total payments to Municipal Services have been flat since 2011, while costs for our municipalities have risen more than 30 percent. This new budget begins to address this imbalance and is a step forward. Still, there is more to be done. This amount is substantially less than we need, or that we should be paid as a city.

Last year, the city of Madison entered a contract with the Welch Group, a conservative lobbying firm to represent the city of Madison in the halls of the State Capitol. We are one of the only cities in the state that has such a strong presence in the building. Unfortunately, the city finalized and signed the contract with the Welch Group in late March of 2025, well after budget negotiations were under way and after the governor presented his budget to the state legislature in February. Our work to secure a fairer deal of shared revenue and greater municipal service reimbursement continues, and I look forward to being a part of those important conversations.

Madison Lakeway’s Project

Last year – prior to my election – the Madison Common Council voted and passed the Madison Lakeway’s Project plan and study. This covers 1.7 miles of the Lake Monona shoreline from Law Park to Olin Turville Park. The goal of this project is to reconnect downtown Madison with Lake Monona. This project will be funded both publicly and though substantial private fundraising.

On Monday July 21st at 6:30pm there will be a virtual Public Information meeting on the status of the design development of a 0.6 mile stretch of Lake Monona’s shoreline adjacent to John Nolen Drive. The discussion will center around the shoreline amenities, what the next steps of the project are, and an opportunity for questions.

Project Timeline:

  • Schematic design completion: Early 2025
  • Design development: Through August 2025
  • Construction documents: Late 2025 – early 2026
  • Public Works bidding: Fall 2026
  • Construction start: Anticipated in 2027

If you are interested in attending, please register prior to the event. If you would like to learn more about the project you can visit www.madisonlakeway.org.

Library Board meeting & Budget Update

The Madison Public Library Board will be meeting on Tuesday, July 8th at 5:00pm to discuss funding and agency budget requests with a focus on the upcoming Imagination Center at Reindahl Park. Unfortunately, at current funding levels the library system won’t be able to fully staff the new Imagination Center without cutting service across the city. Libraries provide so much more than just a quiet place to read, work, or check out books. They serve as accessible community hubs and education spaces. Making sure that our libraries have the resources to meet the needs of our community is incredibly important, especially when there are areas of the city that lack strong social spaces where libraries can step in and fill this gap.

Art Workshop (Southeast Area Plan)

Art Workshop

Calling all artists, art lovers, or residents interested in potential art opportunities within the Southeast Area Plan. Join Madison’s art staff for a workshop on Tuesday July 22nd from 6-7pm at Pinney Branch Library.This workshop will explore ideas for future art possibilities in the Southeast Area plan area guided by Madison’s Arts staff

Let’s shape the future of art in the Southeast Area together! Find out more about this event and the Southeast Area Plan: www.cityofmadison.com/southeastplan

Additionally, if you are interested in reading the feedback that was received as part of Phase #1 of the project, you can do so here. If you have additional feedback that you would like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Boards, Commissions, and Committee Meetings

Note: This is not a complete list of meetings for this upcoming week. All meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page.

  • Police and Fire Commission: The Police and Fire Commission meeting will take place on Monday, July 7, at 5:00 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items of intrest include:
  • Transportation Commission: The Transportation Commission meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 9, at 5:00 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items of intrest include:
  • Plan Commission: The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, July 7, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include development-related requests in Districts 3, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 20.

If you would like more information about becoming a member of a City board, commission, or committee, please visit the page linked here.

Announcements and News Releases

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted.

Events

Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.

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District 16 - Alder O'Brien

Alder Sean O'Brien

Alder Sean O'Brien

District 16
Contact Alder O'Brien