Facing a recently identified $20 million infrastructure backlog and aging utility systems, the City of Madison is defining the financial strategy it will use to rebuild.
While municipalities across the state are resorting to large millage rate increases to cover similar gaps, Madison officials recently announced they will continue to prioritize a “belt-tightening” approach — funding repairs by streamlining government and cutting waste and inefficiency.
The city is bracing for a second round of budget cuts, the first starting two years ago.
“We froze and eliminated positions, cut expenses, and partnered with the county on providing services and privatized operations,” City Manager John Klimm said. “Those measures saved over $800,000. Unfortunately, that round of budget cuts only partially addressed the budget challenge we face.”
This announcement follows the release of the City’s 2025 Infrastructure Report Card, which assigned the City’s overall system a grade of “D-plus” and highlighted urgent needs, including aging utility lines and water main replacements.
The strategy also directly applies the new Vision Statement, “Ensuring Financial Responsibility and Protecting the Uniqueness and Special Character of our City,” which was recently adopted by the city council.
In that unanimous vote, the council formally committed to a back-to-basics philosophy, pledging to operate with fiscal integrity and avoid unnecessary debt to protect Madison’s long-term health.
“When other cities see a budget gap or an infrastructure need, their first instinct is often to raise taxes,” Klimm said. “With costs reaching record highs, we think that is backwards thinking. Our strategy is to treat the city’s checkbook the way our residents treat theirs. We are prioritizing needs over wants. When families face a big repair bill, they tighten their belts. City Hall is doing the same.”
Like many historic communities, Madison benefited for decades from stable rates. However, national trends of deferred maintenance and significant inflation over the decades finally caught up. The Infrastructure Report Card confirms that the era of delaying major repairs has ended. Madison has not passed a truly balanced budget since 2011. Each year, funds were taken from the city’s savings account or from enterprise funds to subsidize the general fund.
“The bill for decades of deferred maintenance has come due,” said City Manager John Klimm. “In the past, a report like this might have led to inaction. But we are choosing the harder path. We will review our budget, prioritize needs over wants, and restructure government. That is what our residents expect and deserve.”
“One of the primary responsibilities of Madison’s elected officials are to be good stewards of our citizens’ tax revenues,” council member Eric Joyce said. “Along with that duty is the need to make fiscal decisions aimed at ensuring that the city can continue to provide well into the future the important services our citizens expect and deserve. Maintaining and improving our utilities infrastructure is critical to that goal, and this council is committed to the dual needs of protecting our infrastructure, while exercising conservative fiscal restraint.”
Over the coming months, Klimm will work closely with staff and council to conduct a line-by-line review of city operations to identify and enact potential cuts. This process will focus on eliminating non-essential spending and streamlining departmental functions to free up capital for the critical repairs identified in the infrastructure report.
“We are correcting a history of deferred maintenance, but we are doing it through discipline,” Klimm said. “Our goal is to ensure that our streets and utilities are safe and reliable by making strategic cuts that identify needs over wants. By getting back to basics today, we can keep Madison safe, beautiful, and unique for generations to come.”