Madison Recoups Protest Costs

The Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance has approved the funds to reimburse the City of Madison for security costs related to the protests earlier this year. In August, the committee approved $7.4 million to reimburse most of the communities that had provided security services. Because the protests were in Madison, the City was required to provide a number of unique services, such as housing a command center and providing bus services. Thus, at the time of the last Joint Finance Meeting, the audit of the city's expenses had not been completed. On October 14, the Wisconsin Department of Administration submitted a request for $712,833 on behalf of the City of Madison. Under the passive review process, the Joint Committee on Finance had 14 days to object to the amount. That time expired yesterday without an objection being raised. As such, Madison will be reimbursed that amount. Mayor Soglin said, "I am pleased that the committee approved these funds. This reimbursement recognizes the valuable contribution made by Madison police officers and firefighters. We had some minor differences with the total cost, but we are going to move on. This is good news for Madisonians."