The Madison Finance Committee finalized Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway’s 2020 executive capital budget Monday, addressing 15 amendments proposed by committee members.
Rhodes-Conway proposed the budget Sept. 3rd, dedicating $170.6 million in new spending to fund affordable housing initiatives and Bus Rapid Transit.
Members of the finance committee proposed 15 amendments to the budget Friday, hoping to include new projects and introduce changes to lower the total amount of funding by $2.3 million.
Thanks to Volkswagen’s settlement with the city last year regarding fines for cheating on emissions tests, 4.8 million dollars was allocated to purchase diesel buses, lessening the burden on the city budget.
The proposed amendments included plans for the construction of a burn tower for Madison Fire Department training. It was ultimately moved to the Horizon List — a new feature introduced by the mayor to cover items that need additional planning before added to the capital budget.
However, Madison Fire Chief Steven A. Davis expressed some concern on the construction plan during the Monday meeting, but ultimately agreed with the decision to hold off its inclusion into the budget.
“I am confident that putting it back on the Horizon List is a good spot for it,” Davis said to the committee members. “I just don’t want to lose it in the politics of your budgeting. Realistically, 1.2 million is probably not going to be enough even if we were to adopt [it] in the next year.”
An amendment including the proposal for a library in Reindahl Park was also deferred due to concerns regarding potential costs, funds needed for initial planning and a lack of information.
“That’s a lot of money to not have,” Ald. Lindsay Lemmer, District 3, said. “If someone stops me on the street and says, ‘What are you spending the 1.1 million dollars for?’ I feel like I need to have a solid explanation for what costs 1.1 million dollars.”
Other aldermen, as well as Mayor Rhodes-Conway, agreed that the proposal for a library in Reindahl Park should remain on the Horizon List, due to operating costs and the Finance Committee’s ability to accommodate those prices.
“There are multiple ways to move this forward — none of which are saying no to this item,” the Mayor noted. “If we wanted to say no to this item, it wouldn’t even be on the Horizon List. I think it is a very good idea — it’s also a very expensive project.”
Other amendments, including plans to upgrade the lighting for Monona Terrace, along with funding for electric and diesel buses passed without dispute.
Addison Lathers is the Editor in Chief of The Daily Cardinal. She has covered city and campus news and held two editor positions. Follow her on Twitter at @addisonlathers.
