News Story

Today, Mayor Rhodes-Conway released her 2024 Executive Capital Budget and 6-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which detail her funding proposals for buildings, infrastructure and other capital investments in Madison. The Capital Budget is half of the City’s budget. In October, the Mayor will introduce her 2024 Executive Operating Budget, which focuses on services, staffing and programs.

“One of local government’s most fundamental responsibilities is to provide the infrastructure that meets our basic needs, supports our local economy and allows us to go about our daily lives safely and efficiently,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. “Our city is growing rapidly, and our infrastructure needs are growing as well. My Capital Budget invests in the basics needed to support safe communities and strong neighborhoods, while looking to the future with investments in affordable housing and climate action.”

The Mayor announced her budget at the Urban League of Greater Madison’s new Black Business Hub alongside community leaders who are helping to catalyze the South Madison renaissance. The Executive Capital Budget released today includes key investments in affordable housing, land acquisition, public facilities and transit that help make the vision laid out in the South Madison Plan a reality. The budget plans $24 million in investments in South Madison for new housing and an expanded Public Health Clinic.

INVESTING IN HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOODS

Neighborhoods across the city will see continued investments in our parks, libraries, bike trails and more. We also continue to invest heavily in affordable housing as Madison continues to grow.

• The City’s Community Development Authority is embarking on two transformational housing projects in South Madison and the Triangle neighborhood. With a total estimated investment of nearly $500 million from federal and state tax credits and city funding, around 1,400 new mixed-income housing units will be developed to help preserve and expand affordable housing in the area.
• The budget increases the affordable housing fund to $94.5 million over six years, an increase of over 60 percent from the 2023 CIP. The City will continue to spend $19 million over six years to help people purchase and rehabilitate homes, provide property tax relief to seniors and support homeownership down payment assistance.
• This budget continues to invest in key community facilities, adding $2 million to fully fund the construction of Madison Public Library’s Imagination Center.
• This budget continues to invest in programs for affordable and equitable business access across the city, with $3 million for the Small Business and Equitable Recovery program.

INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A GROWING CITY

Basic infrastructure like clean water, sewers, accessible streets, bike paths and bridges form the foundational backbone of every city. We build, maintain, expand and improve them to ensure everybody has access to basic services. This budget provides:

• $5.1 million for mitigating PFAS pollution in Well 15, with the possibility of additional federal support for the project through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• $16.5 million of local funding, combined with another $15 million of federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and $16.1 million in State funding, to reconstruct the John Nolen Drive bridges, roadway and multi-use path.
• Expanded planning funds for potential Amtrak service to Madison. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included a landmark increase (over 500%) in passenger rail funding, with Madison identified as a critical city in the Midwest Rail Plan.
• Continued investments of $22.3 million for flood prevention and mitigation efforts to help protect our neighborhoods from a rapidly changing climate.

CREATING A MORE SUSTAINABLE CITY

Madison is a national leader in executing bold plans to reduce our emissions and invest in a more equitable future, and this budget continues moving us down that path. We are leveraging federal dollars for the clean energy transition that will help us move faster and reduce costs.

• The Inflation Reduction Act will provide us with over $13 million in federal tax credits to help finance sustainability improvements to City and community facilities and electrify our fleet. This includes solar installations at the CDA’s Truax Campus and geothermal systems at multiple facilities, including the City’s first purpose-built homeless shelter on Bartillon Drive, the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park, the Far West Streets Facility and the Police Property and Evidence Facility and South District Station.
• The City will begin planning for the North-South bus rapid transit line, which will again be supported by major federal grants, state highway reconstruction funds, local general obligation and tax increment district funding. This $144 million project will also reconstruct elements of Park Street to make it more people-centered and transit-oriented.

As always, the budget seeks to leverage every state and federal dollar available to address increased inflationary costs and to reduce the burden on local property tax payers. But the City is held back by a Republican legislature that does not believe in returning to Madison a fair portion of what the city’s residents provide to the state in sales and income taxes.

“After decades of declining state aid, we had hoped that the historic state budget surplus would result in increased support for the state’s fastest growing city. Unfortunately, the Republican-controlled State Legislature found many ways to prevent our residents from receiving a fair share of state aid. Madison received an insignificant increase, less than 1% of our total budget. Fortunately, continuing investment by the federal government will help the City meet its growing capital needs, but cannot fill the hole left by the lack of shared revenue,” said Mayor Satya.

This Capital Budget reflects careful decision-making to balance the needs of the community with sound fiscal management.

“This budget makes careful investments to maintain and improve our critical infrastructure, help address the challenges we are facing as a community and enhance key community institutions. With these investments, we are continuing to build a better, greener and more resilient Madison,” said the Mayor.

The Mayor’s Executive Budget will be discussed at City Finance Committee meetings beginning September 11, with Common Council action beginning November 14, allowing multiple opportunities for resident input.