Mayor Rhodes-Conway Proposes Amendment to Lower Property Taxes

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Council Leadership are proposing an amendment to the 2026 Budget to maintain the historically low property tax increase proposed in her executive operating budget. The amendment is co-sponsored by Council President Regina Vidaver, Council Vice President MGR Govindarajan and Alders Derek Field, Julia Matthews, Sean O'Brien, and John Guequierre.  

If approved by the Common Council, the City’s portion of property tax bills on an average valued home would increase by around $2.50 a month, or just $30 annually. That’s the lowest tax rate in a City Budget in at least 40 years.  

“Madison residents approved last year’s referendum because they value the important services their City government provides. We have an obligation to respond to that support by limiting property tax increases and continually finding efficiencies, and we are doing that,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway.  

The amendment authorizes $218,037 to be drawn from the City’s unassigned fund balance to cover expenditures approved at the Finance Committee’s October 27 meeting. Without this amendment, that expense would be added to the property tax levy. This action is in alignment with the City’s long-term financial plan to prudently use fund balance to cover the structural budget deficit caused by state-imposed limits in future budgets.