Fiscal Note
No appropriation required. This resolution establishes guidance to staff for developing the
2025 City budget based on the values and priorities expressed by the Common Council at its
Committee of the Whole meeting on March 5, 2024.
Title
SUBSTITUTE: Establishing Guidance for Developing the 2025 City Budget
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has faced a structural deficit each year in its budget since 2011 with the growth in costs-to-continue current services to residents exceeding the allowable rate of growth in City revenues under state law, and;
WHEREAS, state law places severe limits on Wisconsin cities to have sufficient and diversified revenues to pay for services to residents, and;
WHEREAS, Wisconsin cities have the highest reliance on property taxes to fund services than any other Midwestern state, and;
WHEREAS, the City has already utilized most of its limited options over the past 14 years, including spending reductions and charge and fee increases, to address the structural deficit, and;
WHEREAS, City revenues remain nearly 10 percent ($33 million) below pre-COVID levels, despite strong economic growth in the City, due to State prohibitions on a local sales or income tax, combined with strict State limits on growth in property taxes, and;
WHEREAS, despite the largest increase in shared revenue from the State to municipalities in decades, Madison received the smallest amount per capita of any community in Wisconsin, and;
WHEREAS, the economic effects of the COVID pandemic, the strict state law limits on increasing revenues under state law, and the costs-to-maintain services to a growing city, are projected to create a $27 million deficit for the 2025 budget, and;
WHEREAS, there are limited options to increase City revenues to address the deficit, and;
WHEREAS, addressing the budget deficit with expenditure reductions would result in significant service reductions to residents, vulnerable populations, families, businesses, as well as unprece...
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