During a meeting that lasted more than 11 hours over the span of two days, the Dane County Board of Supervisors heard budget requests from county departments beginning on Wednesday as the city of Madison faces a budget shortfall.
Last month, the Madison Common Council approved a referendum to close the city’s projected $22 million budget gap by raising property taxes higher than otherwise allowed under state law. If the referendum fails, the city estimated it will need to make $6 million in budget cuts. Discussion at the Board of Supervisors meeting was aimed at considering which departments would benefit from budget changes.
“We cannot just satisfy every request, but we have to go through this process every year to hopefully do the best we can to make sure that county government is functioning at the highest level,” District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said at the meeting.
The County Executive directed the Department of Public Health to identify a 5% reduction in city funding proposals. The plan considers cutting funding for violence prevention, HIV case management, narcan for businesses and other community health and wellness partnerships.
“Hopefully the referendum will pass, and there will be funding replaced for these services,” said Cheryl Wittke, the director of a local injury prevention coalition whose funding would be cut by the proposal.
The department is already significantly understaffed in every area, and demand is growing, according to Public Health Director Janel Heinrich.
“As with many of my colleagues and across the Public Health Department, as our population and the cost of living is increasing to deliver services, we're seeing the call for services and demand for that work,” Heinrich said.
The District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff's Office also brought up immediate staffing needs in operational budget requests.
Director of Planning and Development Todd Violante reminded supervisors to consider the impact of the county’s rapid population growth.
With federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act set to expire in December, several community members raised concerns about how operational budget cuts might affect local nonprofits.
Leslie Huber, director of a local food pantry, called for continued funding for the Dane County Farm to Food Bank program. She said “the other choice is to simply not have the food that people need.”
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway released her 2025 city capital budget plan on Tuesday proposing a $12.3 million decrease from the current budget. The city’s capital budget differs from its operational budget deficit due to additional funding sources such as federal grants.
The Department of Waste and Renewables requested $9 million within its budget for solar development and carbon capture projects to assist in the goal of carbon net neutrality by 2030. The Department of Land and Water resources proposed a $20 million capital budget, a portion of which would go towards continued wetland restoration.
Wetlands are “essential to flood resilience in our county, in addition to water quality,” according to Director Laura Hicklin.
The Juvenile Court continues efforts to divert individuals from Lincoln Hills Juvenile Detention facility following a 2017 ACLU of Wisconsin lawsuit. Director John Bauman asked the county executive’s office to consider funding for a short-term corrections alternative program with clinical treatment, rehabilitation services and transition work.
Poor video and audio quality hinders communication during remote hearings, Clerk of Courts Director Jeff Okazaki said. The department requested funding to improve technological integration in the courtroom and increase accessibility for individuals with physical limitations.
Dane County Public Safety Communications proposed a smart answer system which would use multilingual artificial intelligence software to determine caller needs, according to Director Luis Bixler.
The outcomes of decision items and community pleas are dependent on deliberation scheduled to conclude before the city’s referendum vote is held on Nov. 5. Another public hearing is set to take place on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.
