According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway on Tuesday proposed a $266.5 million 2024 capital budget that would fully fund an $18.6 million “Imagination Center” at Reindahl Park, double the Affordable Housing Fund, and continue to allocate resources into the south side.
The proposal also delivers $11 million for phase one of a $300 million redevelopment of the city’s piece of “The Triangle” public housing downtown; provides $15.2 million for flood mitigation and $5.1 million to fight PFAS pollution at Well 15 on the far east side; and funds planning for the north-south segment of Bus Rapid Transit next year.
It also would allocate an extra $2 million to meet increasing costs of the $23 million homeless men’s shelter planned for 1901 Bartillon Drive on the far east side.
The mayor’s proposed budget is substantially less than the current year’s record $376.5 million but still far more than 2021’s $166.4 million. It relies on $149.2 million in borrowing and $117.3 million from other sources like federal or state grants. Debt payments are projected to be 17% of the city’s operating budget next year, roughly the same as this year.
