Updates Week of December 30

• Holiday Schedule for City Services
  • Trash and Recycling Pick-Up Changes
  • Metro Transit Holiday Schedule
  • City Offices Closed
• How to Have Your Christmas Tree Collected
• Clerk's Disclosure of Unprocessed Absentee Ballots (District 3 Voters Not Affected)
• Events & Announcements

Holiday Schedule for City Services

Trash and Recycling Pick-Up Changes for New Years Eve and New Years Day

Trash & Recycling Collection Schedule for New Years Eve and New Years Day: There will be no Streets Division collections performed on both Tuesday, December 31, 2024, and Wednesday, January 1st, 2025 in observance of the New Years Eve and New Years Day holidays. The drop-off sites will also be closed on these two days.

If your trash and recycling are normally collected on Monday or Tuesday by the Streets Division, you should have your carts to the curb by 6:30am on Monday, December 30, 2024.

If your trash and recycling are normally collected on Wednesday or Thursday by the Streets Division, you should have your carts to the curb by 6:30am on Thursday, January 2, 2025. 

Metro Transit Holiday Schedule

Holiday Schedule: Due to the holiday, Metro will operate a shortened weekday schedule on Tuesday, December 31. On Wednesday, January 1st, buses will operate Sunday schedules. See holiday transit schedules here.

Customer Service: Metro's call center is available from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on holidays. The Administration Office will be closed.

For more information, contact Metro’s Customer Service Center at (608) 266-4466 or email mymetrobus@cityofmadison.com.

City Offices Closed

City Offices are closed on December 31 and January 1: Administrative offices are closed on December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Emergency services will be open; please call 911. Use Report a Problem for non-emergencies. 

How to Have Your Christmas Tree Collected

The Streets Division provides two rounds of curbside collection for Christmas trees (not wreaths, boughs, or other evergreen decorations which should go into the trash).

The first round will begin on January 6, 2025. The second and final round begins on January 21, 2025, following the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday. Both collections are weather dependent as snow plowing is a higher priority.

In order to have your tree picked up at the curb, you must follow the below rules and have them out during the correct times. If you place them out incorrectly, or at the wrong time, you may miss your opportunity to have them collected at the curb.

Tree collection rules and the schedule are available on the  City of Madison winter website.

Clerk's Disclosure of Unprocessed Absentee Ballots (District 3 Voters Not Affected)

The City Clerk’s Office notified alders and the public on December 26th that 193 absentee ballots for the November 5th General Election were discovered after the election and not counted. The affected ballots are from voters in three wards downtown/near West Side. The Clerk’s statement says that “the number of uncounted absentee ballots was not enough to affect the outcome of any race or referendum on the ballot”.

According to the Clerk’s Office, the ballots were discovered by their staff on November 12th (125 ballots) and December 3rd (68 ballots). Apparently the Clerk’s Office emailed the WI Elections Commission on December 18th asking for guidance, two days shy of the 45-day deadline for doing so. The City Attorney found out when the WI Elections Commission emailed him on December 19th asking for a meeting. He then informed the Mayor's Office; alders learned about this when the public did.

Here is what the Clerk’s statement says about how they will prevent this from happening again: “Moving forward, every polling location will receive a list of absentee envelope seal numbers that will be verified as counted on Election Day. The goal of the Clerk’s Office is that each eligible voter will be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted. Falling short of this goal for the November 2024 Election. We sincerely apologize to our voters and will strive to make sure this never happens again.”

The Mayor released a companion statement on December 26th about the situation: “Today, the Madison Clerk’s Office released a statement alerting the public of 193 unprocessed absentee ballots found after November 5, 2024. The City of Madison prides itself on administering safe, fair and accurate elections. While the discovery of these unprocessed absentee ballots did not impact the results of any election or referendum, a discrepancy of this magnitude is unacceptable. This oversight is a significant departure from the high standard our residents expect and must be addressed and avoided in future elections.  

Unfortunately, Clerk’s Office staff were apparently aware of the oversight for some time and the Mayor’s Office was not notified of the unprocessed ballots until December 20 (please see the timeline of events below for additional details.) We immediately asked the Clerk’s Office to prepare an explanation and then moved quickly to inform the public. The City will also be individually contacting each of the voters affected to notify them and apologize.  

We plan to conduct a thorough review of the City’s election policies and procedures to ensure this kind of oversight does not recur. My office is committed to taking whatever corrective action is necessary to maintain a high standard of election integrity in Madison, and to provide ongoing transparency into that process. This statement and the timeline are a first step in doing so.  

I also wish to offer an apology to affected voters. You have my word that immediate steps will be taken to ensure this kind of mistake will not happen again.”

See the Mayor’s full statement and the timeline of events, here.

Events & Announcements

• Bird & Nature Adventures | Tenney Park, Saturday, January 4: Nature-expert guided walks in Tenney Park along Lake Mendota and the Yahara River Parkway bike path through the Madison Isthmus are free, family-friendly and held the first Saturday of each month, from 2:30-4pm. The walk begins at the Tenney Beach parking lot, 1330 Sherman Avenue. No registration is required. No pets are allowed. Co-sponsored by Madison FUN Friends of Urban Nature, Madison Parks, Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association  and Friends of the Yahara River Parkway
• Bird & Nature Adventures | Cherokee Marsh, North, Sunday, January 5: Cherokee Marsh is Madison’s largest conservation park with three units - North, South, and Mendota. Each month, year-round we explore the north unit's beautiful trails through the woodlands, wetlands, and restored prairies along the Yahara ‘Catfish’ River. Co-sponsored by Madison Parks, Friends of Cherokee Marsh , and Sierra Club.  Follow North Sherman Ave. to the parking lot at the end of the gravel entrance road. Free, family-friendly guided nature walks at Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park – North are held on the 1st Sunday of each month, year-round 1:30-3pm. No registration is required. No pets are allowed.
• Holiday Fantasy in Lights at Olin Park, November 9th through December 31, 2024: Lighted holiday themed displays set in beautiful Olin Park. Drive through anytime Dusk until Dawn to enjoy this magical light show for free, brought to you by The Electric Group.

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted. Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.