MADISON, Wis. — Madison’s mayor unveiled her proposed 2023 Executive Capital Budget on Tuesday.
The Capital Budget focused specifically on infrastructure, buildings and land investments. It included the brick-and-mortar things that make up a city: The buildings that house businesses, the homes we live in and the streets we drive on.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway focused her budget proposal presentation on three categories: Affordable housing, city resiliency and strengthening neighborhoods.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development considers someone “cost-burdened” if they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau from 2016-2020 showed that in Dane County, four out of ten renters are cost-burdened.
Rhodes-Conway’s proposal would increase funding for affordable housing to $60 million.
“This represents a fundamental change in the priorities of the city. We are seeing the results of our affordable housing investments all around this city,” she said. “In the Bayview neighborhood, redevelopment is underway on 130 affordable housing units, a beautiful community room and other amenities.”
The proposed budget would invest in the city’s first men’s homeless shelter. It’s set to be built in 2024 using money from the city, county and federal government at a cost of $21 million.
When it comes to resiliency, the budget put $22 million toward flood mitigation projects. The flood in 2018 caused the city to fast-track some efforts.
Under the plan, the city would use $23 million in federal Small Starts money to make the 46-vehicle bus rapid transit fleet is fully electric. It would also spend $1.7 million on a new inter-city bus terminal inside the State Street campus garage.
With the goal of building stronger neighborhoods, the budget allocated $15 million to build the Madison Public Library’s Imagination Center in the Sandberg area. It would also fund a $5 million expansion at Warner Park’s community center.
The executive capital budget is set to be introduced to the Madison Common Council at its meeting Tuesday evening. Then, it’ll move on to finance committee meetings later this month. The Common Council will have the final say in November.
In the next month, Rhodes-Conway will outline the city’s operating budget. That plan focuses on staffing, services, and programs across the city of Madison.