City of Madison 2025 Budget Outlook
The City of Madison has faced a budget shortfall of some degree every year for the past 14 years due to state-imposed restrictions on City revenue and growing need for services. The Finance Department recorded a four-part series to explain the fundamentals of the City’s budget and options for closing the $27 million structural deficit in February 2024. This information series was followed by five community conversations hosted by the Common Council in May and early June 2024. The $27 million figure was amended to $22 million in June 2024 as the City finalized its 2023 budget.
See all past budget presentations at the City of Madison's 2025 Budget Outlook web page or review the current and past adopted City of Madison budgets.
Library 2025 Operating Budget
On June 17, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway asked city agencies in the general and library fund categories - including Madison Public Library - to draft operating budgets with at least 5% service reductions. These budgets are due to City Finance by July 19. The Library Board voted on the budget at their meeting on July 11.
The library's budget team presented two options to the Library board on July 11. After much deliberation, the Library Board passed an amended version of the Option B scenario which includes:
Cost to continue budget that:
- eliminates a vacant manager position to fund the additional 2 days per week at Monroe Street Library needed to maintain service at the current 5 days per week level. Eliminating this position also helps fund two-thirds of the annual operating cost of the Dream Bus, the remainder of which is funded by the Madison Public Library Foundation through 2025
- And - assuming the cost to continue budget (without reductions) is approved by November, the library should create through vacancies 3 new systemwide positions to support the development of the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park
The Board also approved a 5% budget reduction scenario that offers required reductions in priority order:
- $120,692.63 - elimination of Sunday hours
- $323,793.35 - elimination of 3-3.5 full-time equivalent programming staff and some program services & supplies, with directions to prioritize the reductions of services/supplies over staff
- $644,205.12 - elimination of the equivalent of our evening hours, while requesting that some evening hours be preserved over morning hours so we have a mix of daytime/evening hours for the community
Italics indicate changes from the original budget presentation slides presented to the Board.
The Library Board believes strongly in the importance of libraries and knows that libraries serve as critical lifelines for neighborhoods. Because of this belief, they are committed to seeing the Imagination Center move forward, as the Reindahl Park area has long been considered a service desert. However, the Board does not want to see this happen at the expense of existing services without a deeper discussion of impacts across the city. The library will continue to explore ways to fund the operations of Imagination Center at Reindahl Park. The Board has also indicated its support of a referendum.
“We heard from over 60 people who weighed in on the budget options, all of whom indicated how important library service was to them and what they valued most of the proposed options, including access to library books and other collections, technology and WiFi, neighborhood spaces for meeting, access to research resources and assistance, and a variety of free, engaging programs,” said Library Director Tana Elias. “It’s clear that the proposed reductions would be a real loss to our community, and we appreciate the outpouring of support.”
Read below to see key resources, read budget reduction FAQs, look through a graphic timeline of the full budget process, and see how you can get involved in sharing your priorities for library service with city officials.
Budget Reduction Scenario FAQs
How does the Library budget fit into the City’s budget?
The Library is considered part of the General Fund when looking at the City’s budget because it is mostly funded through property taxes. Within the General Fund, the Library budget is part of the Public Facilities group, which also includes Monona Terrace. However, Monona Terrace is an “Enterprise Fund” meaning their services are not funded through property tax revenues. While the majority of the Library’s funds come from the City of Madison, by statute, the Library Board must approve the Library's budget.
What is the Library's budget and how is it spent?
In 2024, Madison Public Library’s Operating Budget from the city was $20.7 million dollars, with additional funding from Madison Public Library Foundation, Friends groups, and various grants. Madison Public Library operates nine libraries, one service center, and a mobile Dream Bus. Personnel costs (67%) include funding for approximately 270 employees, or 172.35 FTE. Non-personnel costs (21%) include facilities costs, supplies, and contracted services through South Central Library System, which helps deliver books and materials between libraries, provides technology support and databases, and more. Debt service (11%) reflects the library’s payment for capital improvement projects, and the remaining 1% reflects payments made to other city departments.
What is the cost to continue budget?
The library’s proposed cost to continue in 2025 is $21,773,982. The cost to continue increased from 2024 to 2025 due to:
- increased expenses to Dane County
- inflation on utilities costs
- materials increases for the OverDrive digital library
The cost to continue budget doesn’t include popular offerings like Kanopy ($70,000), Dream Bus Operations, or the staffing and operations for the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park ($258,079 in 2025, $927,876.25 in 2026, and $569,939.25 in 2027).
What about a referendum?
One solution to help close some or all of the $22 million budget deficit for the 2025 budget is to go to a referendum during the November 5, 2024 election. A referendum ballot has to be approved by the Common Council through a resolution at least 70 days prior to the election in which the referendum question will be considered. Common Council approval would be needed by August 27 (meeting August 20). If the council decides to pursue a referendum, staff would draft a resolution that sets the dollar amount and number of years, and includes all required language for the ballot.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway introduced a long range budget plan that spans five years and shows two different scenarios - one with a referendum in 2025 and one without. You can see those projects and gain more insight into the City of Madison's proposed plans to address the $22 million dollar deficit in the Mayor's presentation to Common Council from July 16, 2024. The article Madison faces $6 million in city cuts or referendum, Mayor says, released by WKOW News 27 on July 17, 2024, summarizes the presentation and includes comments from Madison Public Library Director Tana Elias on how the two scenarios presented by the Mayor would impact Library Service. - updated 07/19/2024
How did the library decide which items or services to cut in the proposed reduction plan?
To guide its decision-making, library leadership relied on the new, equity-focused Madison Public Library strategic plan and considered the following:
- Which library services do most people use?
- What types of unique services does the library offer?
- Which reductions affect certain customer groups the most?
- Which services is the library statutorily or contractually bound to provide, and at what levels?
- What kind of guidance has the Common Council offered?
Priorities included:
- minimizing any reductions in branch closures, layoffs, hours of operation, and services
- opening the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park in 2026
- minimizing effects of increase to Dane County net payment
- applying an equity lens in relation to hours reductions or closures
What is the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park project? Can it be delayed?
The Imagination Center at Reindahl Park, planned on the northeast side, is a City of Madison multi-departmental project of the library, Madison Parks, and Engineering. Situated in one of the city’s largest green spaces, the facility will include a library, community gathering spaces, and collaborative programming. The northeast side is growing at twice the pace as the rest of the city and has no library service nearby. The area also is home to a high percentage of immigrants, low-income families, and residents of color who desperately need library service to thrive.
The Madison Public Library Foundation is committed to raising $4.5 million of the project cost and has already begun fundraising. The Imagination Center at Reindahl Park will increase the library operating budget by $2.1 million over three years for branch and systemwide needs, as well as increasing debt service. An additional $1.26-$1.31 million more would still need to be funded by the Library to open the Imagination Center. However, city departments have already spent the last several years planning and designing the facility and delaying the project will likely lead to increased construction costs. Part of this gap in operational vs. capital planning comes from the way the City's budget process works. The City of Madison Capital Budget approves funds looking four years into the future, whereas the Operations Budget is approved on an annual basis for only the year ahead. So the funds have been approved to plan and bid for construction on the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park, the Library is still responsible for operationalizing the costs to staff and run the new location.
What role will the Library Board play in approving a budget reduction plan?
Madison Public Library is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors, appointed to three-year terms by the Madison Mayor. Chapter 43 of Wisconsin statutes provide the board with the authority to oversee library policies and direction. The board works in conjunction with the Mayor, library staff, and the Madison Common Council to plan, fund, and implement public library service in Madison. Click here for a list of current Library Board members.
Madison Public Library is unique from other city departments. While the majority of library funds come from the City of Madison, by statute, the Library Board must approve the library's budget. This means the budget will be discussed in a public forum — at the next Library Board meeting — earlier than other city agencies typically share their budgets.
Key Upcoming Budget Dates
-
present proposed budget to Library Board for discussion and approval at the July 11 meeting
- agency requests due to the Mayor’s Office on Friday, July 19
- August 6: Common Council Meeting. Open to public comments on referendum
- August 12-14: Agency briefings with Mayor's Office
- August 20: Common Council (Special Meeting) vote on referendum
- August 27: Common Council must decide on and approve language by this date to be added to the ballot for the November 5, 2024 election
- October 8: Executive Budget introduced to Common Council
- October 14-15: Agency briefings with Finance Committee
- October 28: Finance Committee amendments meeting
- October 30 - November 8: Common Council amendments week
- November 5: Election Day— if a referendum is introduced, it will appear on the ballot.
- November 12-14: Common Council budget adoption meetings
Get Involved
At this point in the process, you can share your library service priorities and feedback on all city services with your alder.
- Contact your alder to share your concerns about the budget.
- Email the City Finance Department to share your concerns or ask questions about the budget.
- Submit written comments by email to the Finance Committee or Common Council.
- Attend public budget hearings of the Finance Committee and Common Council in September, October and November.