Meetings and Updates Week of June 24th
posted- City Meetings:
- Finance Committee 6/24
- Plan Commission 6/24
- Alcohol License Review Committee 6/26
- Chip Sealing Taking Place in District 3 Neighborhood Streets This Year
- Madison Public Library Releases 2023 Annual Report: Services Data and Budget Impacts
- Home-Buying, Homeownership, and Property Tax Assistance for Seniors
- Events & Announcements
City Meetings
Note: This is not a complete list of meetings for this upcoming week. All meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, June 10, in virtual format at 4:30 p.m. Agenda items include a resolution “Requesting information, studies, and plans regarding the authorization of a local sales tax” sponsored by District 12 Alder Latimer-Burris. Note that the State of WI currently prohibits the City of Madison from levying a local sales tax. The agenda also includes a discussion about 2025 Budget Timelines.
Plan Commission
The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, June 10, in virtual format at 5:30 p.m. Agenda items include Tax Increment Finance plan amendments and development-related proposals (none in District 3).
Alcohol License Review Committee
The Alcohol License Review Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 26th in hybrid format at 5:30pm in room 201 of the City County Building and online. Agenda items include:
- In District 3, a change of license agent request for the Great Dane Eastside at 876 Jupiter Drive.
- In District 3, a change of conditions request for Grewal Petroleum LLC at 3859 East Washington Ave to allow for the sale of single-serve bottles or cans.
- In District 3, a new license request for Wisco Home Goods at 4664 Cottage Grove Road to serve wine at crafting workshops. The hours of operation listed on their application are 3-7pm Wednesday and Thursday, and 10am-6pm on Friday and Saturday.
- An ordinance change proposal imposing geographic limitations on certain alcohol license applications for the purpose of regulating the geographic density of alcohol licenses.
Meeting and join details:
Chip Sealing Taking Place on District 3 Neighborhood Streets
A contractor recently began "chip sealing" on neighborhood streets throughout District 3. Here is a map of affected streets in the District. This work is a part of the City's Pavement Management program, which is a much more cost-effective way to extend pavement life than resurfacing and makes resurfacing projects much less frequent. You can read more about chip sealing (and its significant cost benefits) on this City Engineering webpage, or in this Engineering memo about the 2024 chip sealing project.
The street is first sealed with an application of a binder in the form of an emulsion (asphalt and water). Then an application of aggregate or chips immediately follows. Once the chips are rolled and the emulsion is set the contractor then sweeps up the loose aggregate. There will be a few weeks of loose aggregate from the chip sealing operation. The contractor is required to do multiple sweeps unit the loose aggregates is cleaned up. Loose aggregate and dust will be present and residents are asked to use caution during this period. Please close your windows and doors to avoid any dust entering your residence. A second sweeping of the street by the Contractor will occur approximately one to two weeks after the initial sweeping.
Questions can be sent to Steve Sonntag, City of Madison Engineering Division, 608-267-1997, ssonntag@cityofmadison.com.
Home-buying, Homeownership, and Property Tax Assistance for Seniors Programs
As part of Homeownership Month (June), the City is reminding residents of a few resources available to homeowners, home-buyers, and seniors. The City of Madison’s Community Development Division (CDD) supports homeowners and potential homeowners with a variety of programs and resources to promote sustainable homeownership. CDD also provides services to increase the supply of safe, decent, and affordable housing through the renovation of the existing rental housing stock.
- Home-Buy the American Dream Program down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers
- Property Tax Assistance for Seniors Program is available to pay all or a portion of a homeowner's property taxes
- Rehabilitation Loans
- Special Assessment Loans
Read more about these programs on this Community Development resources webpage.
Madison Public Library Releases 2023 Annual Report: Services Data and Budget Impacts
I check out each City agency’s annual reports and am happy to share my notes in the blog. Here’s the 2023 Annual Report for all to read.
Top three checkout locations:
- Sequoya Lobrary on Tokay Boulevard: 572,750 items
- Pinney Library on Cottage Grove Road: 469,633 items
- Central Library on Mifflin Street: 351,207
- Honorable mention: Dream Bus, with 7,277. This service is important in District 3: the Dream Bus makes weekly visits to North Star Drive near Harmony Apartments.
2023 services by the numbers
- 1,283,565 library visits
- 16,426 new library cards issued
- 121,680 library cardholders, representing 42% of Madisonians
- 329,821 audiobook checkouts
- 2,300,564 physical items checked out
- 24,600 seed packets distributed
- 12,391 book festival attendees
- 91 Wisconsin Book Festival events
2023 Madison Public Library Financials
Revenue total: $22,830,166
- City of Madison appropriation: $19,770,8225
- Dane Co Library System contractual services: $1,277,496
- Grants: $750,228
- LINK contract services: $404,255
- South Central Library System contractual services: $308,111
- Other: $268,134
- Library fees: $42,417
- Endowment: $8,700
Expenses total: $23,747,486
- Salaries and benefits: $14,371,380
- Debt retirement: $2,667,314
- Dane Co Library System contractual services: $1,805,294
- Library books, media, databases: $1,363,294
- Facilities: $1,306,613
- Purchased services, miscellaneous: $1,052,870
- LINKcat online computer operations: $624,172
- Supplies: $556,549
Intergovernmental Library Reimbursement and Operating Budget Impact: when a budget cut might not actually be a budget cut
At its February 24th 2024 meeting, the Madison Public Library Board had a presentation from Library staff explaining how Library’s Operating Budget pays other municipalities back for Madison residents’ use of their libraries, which is going to complicate Madison’s 2025 Operating Budget cut options to address the structural deficit. Here’s a direct link to the recording of the relevant part of this presentation to the Library Board.
When Madison residents use services at libraries outside of Madison, Madison reimburses those municipalities for that service. The opposite is also true: when non-Madison residents use services at Madison libraries, their municipality reimburses Madison. However, Madison residents use many more services at libraries outside of Madison than vice versa, resulting in a large net loss for Madison Public Libraries’ budget. In the past this reimbursement process benefitted Madison Public Libraries’ budget prior to 2009, but that trend reversed in 2009 and the gap has been getting bigger.
Those following along with the projected 2025 City Operating Budget’s structural deficit know that the City is considering cuts to staff and services as a potential option to balance the 2025 Operating Budget this fall. Madison Public Libraries is one of the larger agencies supported by the Operating Budget. Cuts to staff/services will likely translate to some degree of more library branch closure days or perhaps closing locations entirely. However, this intergovernmental reimbursement policy for library services means if Madison reduces library hours or locations, and if that results in Madison residents using more of other libraries' services, this reimbursement expense on the Madison Public Library’s Operating Budget will grow.
Events & Announcements
- City of Madison recognizes National Homeownership Month posted June 17, 2024. The City of Madison is dedicated to making homeownership achievable and sustainable for residents, as part of the City’s commitment toward better access to safe, secure, and affordable housing for all.
- Public Health Promotes Online Database for Lost Pets posted June 18, 2024. Public Health Madison & Dane County is promoting a new initiative to help connect lost pets with their owners.
- Go By Metro! at Pinney Library, 16 Cottage Grove Rd. on Tuesday June 25th. Get the latest scoop on BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) and basics for how to use the local bus service. Get one-on-one time with a Metro employee in English or Spanish!
- City Clerk's Office begins mailing absentee ballots to voters with requests on file. You can track the status of your absentee at My Vote. Here's how to make sure your absentee ballot will count:
- Seal your ballot in the return envelope.
- Sign the envelope where it says "Voter Signature."
- Have your witness sign the envelope where it says "Witness Signature."
- Have your witness write their name on the envelope where it says "Witness Printed Name."
- Have your witness write their address on the envelope where it says "Witness Address (Number, Street Name, City).
- Return your ballot early enough that the Clerk's Office will receive it by Election Day.
- Capitol View Farmers' Market, Wednesday, June 19 (This event occurs on multiple dates): The Capitol View Farmers' Market is held weekly on Wednesdays (3:00-7:00pm) from late May through mid-October. Join us each week for great local vendors, live music, food carts, and special activities from week to week. Visit our website and follow us on social media for the most up-to date information and schedules! (Location: far Eastside of Madison, near the Great Dane Eastside, 5901 Sharpsburg Dr.)
