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City Meetings and Updates Week of Sept 29

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  • Finance Committee Votes on 2026 Capital Budget and Amendments 9/29
    • Details About 2026 Executive Capital Budget Proposal
    • Finance Committee Alders’ Proposed Amendments
  • Special Common Council Discussion of New Bartillon Men’s Shelter 9/30
  • Housing Forward Proposals Informational Meeting 9/30
  • Special Edition Library Card to Celebrate Madison Public Library’s 150th Anniversary
  • Week Without Driving Begins 9/29
  • Events & Announcements

Finance Committee Votes on 2026 Capital Budget and Amendments Monday

City budget season is in full swing. The Mayor has proposed her 2026 Executive Capital Budget (see summary available here) and we anticipate seeing her full 2026 Executive Operating Budget proposal on October 7th. As a reminder, the City’s Capital Budget generally includes the purchase or sale of land, buildings, construction projects, and heavy equipment like vehicles; the Operating Budget generally covers staff salaries and costs related to contracted services for City residents.

Details About 2026 Executive Capital Budget Proposal

I’ve pulled out some of the more notable items in the 2026 Executive Capital Budget and five-year Capital Improvement Plan for those who are interested to follow along with major projects, with those directly impacting District 3 bolded:

  • Fire - New fire station 6 in 2026: $8.1 million
  • Police - New Southside police station in 2027:  $42.5 million
  • Engineering Bike/Ped - Stoughton Road Ped/Bike enhancements in 2028: $5 million, some federal funds anticipated but would flow through WisDOT since this is a WisDOT project
  • Engineering Facilities - Election Operations Center in 2026: $3.75 million
  • Engineering Major Streets - Reconstruction Streets in 2026: $17.8 million, includes Sycamore/MacArthur project
  • Fleet Service - Fleet Equipment Replacement: $10.6m; the cost over the CIP goes up 20% because of Trump administration tariffs on vehicles
  • Parks - Lakeway in 2026: $10 million, of which $4.46 million will be from impact fees (which can only be used for the park system), $3 million in private contributions, $1.04 million will be from TIF, and $1.5 million will be from General Obligation borrowing
  • Streets - Far West Facility in 2026: $43.7 million
  • Traffic Engineering - Street Lighting Installation program in 2026 includes funds for street lighting along Walsh Road; Traffic Signal Installation program in 2026 includes funds for the new traffic signal approved for Milwaukee Street and Sprecher Road
  • Transportation - the new budget removes $10 million in impact fees for the local share of the future Milwaukee Street Interchange from 2029 because WisDOT has pushed the interchange project out to the 2040’s in their project plans

Finance Committee Alders’ Proposed Amendments, Monday’s Meeting

The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, September 29, at 4:30 p.m. in Room 215 of the Madison Municipal Building at 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Agenda items include 2026 Capital Budget deliberations.

Finance Committee members are proposing six amendments, available here, to the 2026 Executive Capital Budget Proposal:

  1. The Mayor proposes a technical correction amendment that corrects language in the Fleet Service agency budget; no 2026 fiscal impact.
  2. Alder Verveer proposes moving up project adding bike/ped improvement on State Street so that it would happen a few years early, with funding in 2028-2030; no 2026 fiscal impact.
  3. Alders Verveer and Madison propose a new project making improvements and repairs to Central Library to the Horizon List for further study; no 2026 fiscal impact.
  4. Alder Evers proposes replacing a City-maintained fence along Edgewood Drive in 2026 at the cost of $120,000 paid for with General Obligation borrowing; the Taxes on Average-value Home (TOAH) impact is $0.15.
  5. Alders Verveer and Harrington-McKinney propose a new project to acquire body-worn cameras for Madison Police officers to the Horizon List for further study; no 2026 fiscal impact. (Note from Finance Dep Analysis of this amendment: “There is no fiscal impact in the 2026 CIP, but the project would have significant capital and operating costs in a future year when it moves from the horizon list into the budget.”)
  6. Alders Govindarajan, Verveer, and Vidaver propose to use funds from TID 48 (Regent Street area) to improve lighting along the Southwest Commuter Path at the cost of $844,000 paid for by TIF increment funds; the Taxes on Average-value Home (TOAH) impact is $0.

Here’s the meeting info for tomorrow’s Finance Committee meeting where these amendments will be discussed and considered:

After this point, the 2026 Capital Budget proposal will go to the Common Council in mid-November for consideration of additional amendments and adoption. Next up at Finance Committee will be the 2026 Operating Budget briefings (Oct 13 & 14) and amendment votes (Oct 27). Stay tuned.

Special Common Council Discussion of New Bartillon Men’s Shelter Tuesday

A Common Council Discussion will take place on Tuesday, September 30, at 6:00 p.m. This is a briefing on the Bartillon Purpose-Built Permanent Men's Shelter and its history to current status, as well as key issues that lie ahead. The Common Council will not take any formal action at this discussion (no votes, no introduction of legislation, etc.). Members of the public can observe the discussion in person at 201 City-County Building or online.

Housing Forward Proposals Informational Meeting Tuesday at 5pm

Another slate of Housing Forward initiative proposals is making its way through the City’s legislative process.

A virtual public information meeting on these is being held on Tuesday, Sept 30th at 5pm. Please consider joining if you’re interested! Registration is required and can be done at the Zoom registration link, available here.

These three proposals are planned to go to the Plan Commission on October 6th and Common Council on October 7th.

Those watching closely will have noticed that the Housing Forward webpage with more information about these three proposals also has a “Future Proposals” section near the bottom previewing what appear to be the next slate of changes:

  • Allowing Cottage Court developments in residential zoning districts
  • Updates to the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) overlay zone
  • Updating the zoning district for some “planned development” (PD) neighborhoods

I’ll share more info in future posts as it becomes available. Stay tuned!

Special Edition Library Card to Celebrate Madison Public Library’s 150th Anniversary

September marks the national celebration of Library Card Sign-Up Month, a time when the library encourages new people within the community to learn about and access library resources, as well as educating current library cardholders about everything a library card can provide. This card is designed by local artist Jaundy Brunswick in honor of Madison Public Library’s 150th Anniversary. Existing cardholders can swap their current card for the new design starting October 1st, 2025.

The Special Edition 150th Anniversary Library Card is made possible support from the Madison Public Library Foundation.

Read more at this Library webpage.

Week Without Driving Begins 9/29

Week Without Driving is a nationwide initiative that aims to raise awareness and promote understanding about the challenges faced by individuals who do not have reliable transportation, highlighting the impact of limited transportation on people's everyday lives. Here’s the City page.

People who do not drive do so for a variety of reasons, whether it be due to age, financial circumstances, physical or intellectual disability, a preference to minimize their environmental impact, alleviate traffic congestion, or prioritize the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists. It is increasingly costly to own a car, with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating that, on average, it costs over $1,000 per month to own a car, as of 2023, making car ownership unaffordable for many Madison residents.

National organizers created the event “so that those who have the option to drive can learn firsthand about the barriers and challenges that nondrivers face and work with nondrivers to create more accessible communities for all.” It’s not meant to shame anyone who drives. Week Without Driving reminds me to think about how our communities are designed in a way that makes residents of many neighborhoods car-dependent, and to think about what that means for folks who cannot drive or cannot afford a vehicle. I’m fortunate to live within walking distance of a D1 route bus stop with service to downtown (where I work) and back every 30 minutes, allowing me to travel to my day job, many in-person City meetings, or Woodman’s by bus.

Those interested in learning more or participating should check out the Greater Madison Metro Planning Organization's Week Without Driving webpage.

Events & Announcements

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

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District 3 - Alder Field

Alder Derek Field

Alder Derek Field

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