Madison’s proposed budget for 2026 highlights the city’s recent financial turnaround, as it would increase staffing and service levels while limiting the city’s property tax increase to roughly the rate of inflation.
A key contributor to this newfound stability is an infusion of new revenue, including property tax dollars from a successful $22 million referendum approved by voters last November. An unexpected increase in state aid is another factor that gives the city of Madison a brighter budgetary picture than a year ago, when city officials were contemplating fee increases and cuts to city services if the referendum had failed.
Instead, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s proposal calls for increasing funding for services in key areas, such as library and paramedic staffing, to match Madison’s growing population. Still, Madison residents and officials should not become complacent, the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s annual brief on the city budget finds…