City Meetings and Updates Week of July 6

• City Meetings:
  • City County Homeless Issues Committee 7/6
  • Common Council 7/7
  • Board of Park Commissioners 7/8
• Free Electronics Recycling Donation Drive at Goodwill Locations 7/11
• Water Main Flushing Update
• Madison Metro School District Students Ride Metro Transit for Free This Summer
• Events & Announcements

City 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.

City County Homeless Issues Committee

The City County Homeless Issues Committee meeting will take place on Monday, July 6, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include a 2027 City & County Budget Listening Session Discussion and Recommendations. The presentation isn't yet attached to this Legistar item but should be soon. I believe the central issue going into 2027 is how the City and County will come up with the funding to operate the new purpose-built Bartillon shelter. The City is once again seeing that its 2027 cost-to-continue at existing service levels will exceed the State's Expenditure Restraint Incentive Program limit, meaning cuts are necessary to avoid losing $9 million in State aid. More concerning, Dane County is projecting a challenging budget deficit of $15 million in 2027.

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Common Council

The Common Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 7, at 6:30 p.m. in hybrid format. Agenda items include: 

Image credit: City Finance Department

• Item 1: An honoring resolution celebrating July 2026 as Disability Pride Month
• Item 3: A special presentation from Finance Staff about the 2027 City Operating Budget outlook and request for guidance. Here's the recent staff presentation to Finance Committee members showing that the estimated cost to continue existing levels of City services in 2027 exceeds the State's Expenditure Restraint Incentive Program limit for Madison by $7.2 million. If the City spends even a dollar more than that limit, the City would lose $9 million in State aid in 2027 (see slide 7 in the staff presentation). That means cuts to City agency budgets will be necessary to keep spending in the Operating Budget under that limit. Thus, the Mayor's 2027 Operating Budget guidance directs agencies to prepare 2% cut scenarios in each of their budgets for her consideration as she prepares her 2027 Executive Budget Proposal later this summer. The 2027 City Budget process will continue through mid-November. Watch for future blog posts with more information and public input opportunities.
• Item 12: An amendment to Madison General Ordinances to remove the requirement of vehicular access to collector streets (I'm a cosponsor). This change gives Traffic Engineering staff more flexibility when requiring vehicle access to properties as part of the development properties. Zoning and Traffic Engineering staff memos in support are attached to the Legistar item.
• Item 13: An amendment to Madison General Ordinances to increase the maximum height allowed for nonresidential buildings, such as schools, in certain zoning districts through conditional use approval (I'm a cosponsor). Here's a zoning staff memo with more information. 
• Item 39: A resolution adopting a relocation order to acquire land at the very southern end of MacArthur Road for improved stormwater facilities related to the MacArthur/Sycamore/Larson street reconstruction project in District 3. Here's a map that shows the area with the planned stormwater route heading south from MacArthur to a WisDOT stormwater pond.
• Item 46: A resolution awarding a Public Works Contract for the installation of the new traffic stoplights coming to Milwaukee Street & Sprecher Road, which borders District 3, to Parisi Construction LLC.
• Item 54: A resolution approving an amendment to the Project Plan for TID #44, Royster Clark, to reflect property acquisitions the Council recently approved, using corresponding TID funding (I'm a cosponsor). 

Meeting info: 

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Board of Park Commissioners

The Board of Park Commissioners meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 8, at 6:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include adopting the Comprehensive Master Plan for Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Here's a link to the Legistar item where I believe the draft plan will be uploaded prior to the meeting.

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Free Electronics Recycling Donation Drive at Goodwill Locations Next Saturday

Ready to clean out that drawer full of old cords, phones, and laptops? Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin is hosting a Donation Drive for electronic waste (“e-waste") next Saturday. 

Image credit: Goodwill of South Central WI

Drive up to any Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin location between 9am and 8pm on Saturday, July 11th and drop off unwanted electronics. They will accept a wide range of electronics in both working and non-working condition, keeping valuable materials out of landfills.

What can I donate? Review this webpage to find out. The first thing I checked is if they take batteries, and they do!

Do I Need to Remove Personal Data from My Devices? No, all electronics are handled by trained professionals who securely erase any data as part of the recycling process.

Here's Goodwill's event page with more information. 

Water Main Flushing Update 

The city flushes water mains each year to remove sediment and mineral build up and help maintain the health of our water systems. During flushing, residents may notice a temporary decrease in water pressure and a discoloration of water. The water utility recommends holding off on doing laundry or running the dishwasher until the evening if water main flushing is occurring in your neighborhood. 

July's water flushing areas include roughly the Heritage Heights neighborhood and the eastern half of the Hiestand Park neighborhood in District 3 (see the yellowish-green areas of this map).

If you find you have discolored water, the Water Utility recommends the following:

• Go to a faucet in the lowest level of your home or business, like a basement utility sink or first-floor bathtub.
• Remove the screen or aerator from the faucet (if applicable) and temporarily bypass whole home water softeners or filters if you have them.
• Run the cold water only at full force for a few minutes until the water clears. Once water is clear, replace the faucet screen/ aerator and put any bypassed filters or softeners back in service (if applicable).
• If your water doesn't clear after a few minutes, call our Water Quality Section at (608) 266-4654.
• If you have lower pressure than usual at a faucet, remove the screen or aerator to check if it's clogged. If it's clogged and doesn't rinse easily, soak it in vinegar for at least 15 minutes and scrub it with an old toothbrush.

To stay up-to-date on water main flushing, sign up to the City's email list for weekly water main flushing updates.

Madison Metro School District Students Ride Metro Transit for Free This Summer

The City of Madison, Metro Transit, and the Madison Metropolitan School District are proud to partner in offering free summer bus passes to MMSD students. Every young person living in Madison, entering 6th graders through graduating high school students, is eligible for a free pass. 

This page explains how to request a free student bus pass.

Events & Announcements

• City of Madison Greens Purchasing Policies Related to Vehicles, Buildings, and More: The four updated Administrative Procedure Memoranda (APMs) build on Madison's 2024 Sustainability Plan and its goal of leveraging City purchasing power to reduce emissions and support a circular economy. [posted July 1, 2026]
• Learn to Drive a Pontoon, Tuesday, July 7: Gain boating confidence from Madison Boats captains. We've partnered with Madison Boats for this Learn to Drive a Pontoon class at Marshall Park. Join their amazing captains as they demonstrate the basics of driving a pontoon boat and basic boating safety. 
• Disability Pride Flag Raising Ceremony & News Conference, Wednesday, July 8: The City of Madison will host its second Disability Pride Flag Raising Ceremony to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ceremony and news conference will take place on Wednesday, July 8, at 11:30 a.m.  in front of the Madison Municipal Building. Community members are encouraged to attend and show their support for disability, pride, and inclusion. 
• Capitol City Band Concerts - 58th Season, Thursday, July 9: The Capitol City Band's 58th season begins June 18 at the Rennebohm Park Shelter. Bring a chair and enjoy live music on Thursdays at 7:00 PM through August 20.
• Concerts on the Rooftop: Granny Shot ('90s & '00s Cover Band), Thursday, July 9: Granny Shot is a cover band based in Madison, WI playing all of your favorite alternative rock, hard rock, and pop punk hits from the ‘90s and ‘00s, as well as some classics from the ‘70s and ‘80s.
• Adapted Swim, Friday, July 10: Summer 2026 Open Adapted Swim with MSCR at Goodman Pool - Free! Open to all individuals with disabilities and their caregivers and families. Pre-registration is not required.

• Free Homebuyer Education Class (in person), Saturday, July 11: Take the first step to owning a home and join us in this Home Buyer Education Workshop. This FREE Homebuyer Education workshop takes place in-person at a Madison area location to be determined on Saturday, July 11, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm! Lunch will be provided.

  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.