Mayor Rhodes-Conway Releases 2027 Executive Operating Budget

For Immediate Release
October 6, 2026

City government is responsible for providing essential services that allow our community to thrive. The impact of our work is felt by our residents daily. We are taking a proactive and multifaceted approach to addressing the nationwide housing and affordability crisis. We ensure there are safe travel choices to work and school. We foster a healthy economy by supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs. We respond when community members are in need. We maintain a first-class network of parks that emphasizes the natural beauty of our isthmus city. We close opportunity gaps and inspire the next generation to dream big with our libraries. And we create plans to identify and confront the emerging challenges of a growing city.  

Together with the capital budget proposal released in September, my 2027 Executive Operating Budget proposal outlines the services and programs that underpin our local economy and enhance Madison's quality of life. Specifically, I want to highlight that this proposal:  

• Identifies nearly a million dollars in efficiencies to limit the burden on property taxpayers while preserving the services our residents depend on; 
• Limits the increase in taxes on an average home to less than the rate of inflation; 
• Invests in violence prevention and starts a body-worn camera program; 
• Maintains our unprecedented commitment to homeless services;  
• Annualizes our investments in a 10th ambulance company and staffing for the recently opened Imagination Center Library; 
• Provides fair compensation to City employees who deliver high-quality services to our residents.   

This is the first operating budget that will include agency data from Results Madison. This ongoing initiative is intended to increase transparency into City operations and allow the public and policymakers to make data-informed policy decisions.  

Context & Challenges  

Madison's budget is not created in a vacuum. Actions by Federal and State governments are raising our costs and constrain our ability to generate revenue. The lack of leadership at the federal level is driving inflation, supply chain issues and price increases due to tariffs, and a volatile economy. As billions are spent on ill-advised military incursions, high fuel prices are having a significant impact on our residents and city operations.  The City is spending $200,000 more a month on fuel compared to last year. We are seeing an astronomical increase in annual software costs. These rising costs are directly contributing to income inequality, housing insecurity, and increased pressure on local governments to fill the gaps left by federal cuts. For years, the state government has deeply constrained Madison's ability to raise revenue while failing to provide funding to compensate. Wisconsin's next State Legislature needs to treat communities fairly by permanently fixing the unsustainable and deeply flawed funding mechanism for local governments. Despite being one of the fastest growing communities in the state and a central driver of the Wisconsin economy, Madison receives less state aid than it deserves and is far too dependent on property taxes to fund essential services. I'm encouraged that state lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, increasingly recognize that Wisconsin towns, villages, and cities cannot continue to do more with less year after year. I'm hopeful that in the next state budget our lobbying efforts at the Capitol and our partnership with municipalities across the state will finally address this fundamental imbalance. 

State government has made some progress in recent years by increasing reimbursements through the Municipal Services Payment program for the public safety services the City provides to state-owned properties. Our local state representatives should insist on fully funding this program in the upcoming state budget. Doing so would bring in $13 million in additional revenue to Madison while helping dozens of other communities across the state. Given the multibillion-dollar surplus in the state's coffers, this is a straightforward and achievable step no matter the political landscape in 2027. We, as a community, need to remind our state representatives of the need for more state aid to reduce the reliance on property taxes and to provide the basic services that our residents expect and widely support. 

Despite these constraints, I'm pleased to announce that my 2027 Executive Operating Budget proposal avoids the new special charges that were outlined in last year's long-range operating budget plan. I want to thank our team at Metro Transit for lessening the general fund subsidy to public transportation by shifting some operating costs to federal sources. We are also balancing the budget responsibly with nearly a million dollars in efficiencies found by City agencies. As Madison continues to attract residents, City staff have been extremely innovative in streamlining their delivery of services.  

Priorities  

Our residents are facing higher prices for basic necessities due to the actions of our federal government on the nation's economy. We are doing all we can to keep City services affordable.  Toward that end, the 2027 Executive Operating Budget keeps the increase in taxes on an average home to less than the rate of inflation, or about $7 per month. My proposed budget uses over $6 million of fund balance to help maintain services at current levels and hold down the increase in property taxes. It proposes a spending level that ensures Madison will receive over $8 million of state aid through the Expenditure Restraint Incentive Program, while providing $200,000 for Council amendments. Even with strict restrictions on any new services or programs, this budget invests in high-priority needs of the community.  

Maintaining Key Investments 

The opening of the new men's shelter represents an enormous step forward in compassionately addressing housing insecurity. Built with federal, city and county tax dollars, the new shelter is serving nearly three times the number of people we could before the pandemic. This budget continues $1.7 million for shelter operations, which is funded in partnership with Dane County. We have contributed $1 million toward the endowment started by Shelter Friends of Dane County, and look to fulfill the City's $2 million pledge to this group rallying community support behind providing 24/7 operations.  

This budget also annualizes the operating costs of the 10th ambulance company for the Madison Fire Department, which has helped improve response times and balance out ambulance coverage throughout the City. It also fully staffs the newly opened Imagination Center Library and Park Pavilion, a transformational multi-agency resource hub that will serve the north-east side of Madison for decades to come. 

I'd also like to highlight the Madison Customer Assistance Program (MadCAP). Earlier this year, the Council approved legislation to continue MadCAP with a new funding source, ensuring even more low-income families in Madison can save up to $30 each month on their Municipal Services Bill. This is an innovative, first-of-its-kind program in Wisconsin that directly assists residents struggling with the nationwide affordability crisis.  

Violence Prevention  

There is more work to be done, but the City of Madison has seen a lot of success by investing in an alternative response to mental health calls through our CARES program and by investing in our violence prevention efforts administered by Public Health. Moving forward, the City is prioritizing staff capacity in our Violence Prevention Unit to address and prevent the root causes of violence in our community. We need to do everything possible to disrupt patterns of violence that are predictable and preventable. Included in my executive budget are two new positions to assist in this difficult but critical work.  

Body-Worn Cameras 

Madison Community Foundation has generously offered $350,000 to accelerate the implementation of a body-worn camera program for the Madison Police Department. This will cover the operating expenses for three new civilian positions needed to maintain and manage the program, as well as most of the $100,000 annual software cost. The remaining cost will be absorbed by the Department's budget. I want to thank Madison Community Foundation for working with the City to find a solution that delivers on one of several steps we are taking to build trust between law enforcement and the community they are sworn to protect. 

Fair Compensation 

Madison consistently provides high-quality services thanks to a dedicated professional staff. This budget provides a cost-of-living increase of 3 percent to general municipal staff, maintaining our commitment to wage parity with union-represented employees. We will also start implementing the recommendations of a compensation study completed this summer. The findings affirmed that our wages and benefits are largely comparable to peer government organizations. However, there are specific segments of our workforce that need modest pay adjustments to reflect compensation in the market, which are included in this proposal. It's an $800,000 annual investment, initially implemented in the fall of 2027, that reflects a long-term commitment to our staff and will prevent costs associated with high turnover.  

Next Steps  

The introduction of the 2027 Executive Operating Budget begins the formal public input phase of the budget process. I encourage the community to provide input and feedback to the Common Council as alders review and propose amendments at upcoming meetings. Thank you to City staff, particularly the Finance Department, for the tremendous work that goes into crafting both the Operating and Capital budgets. I'm proud of the strategic planning that is helping our City find innovative efficiencies and creative solutions. I'm looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues on the Common Council on a final budget that reflects the values of our wonderful community.