Suburbs

Madison is not alone in weighing whether to ask residents to pay higher property taxes to cover the increasing cost of local government services.

As city officials struggle to figure out how to close a projected $22 million budget shortfall, municipalities across Dane County, including the cities of Monona and Fitchburg and the village of Oregon, are discussing introducing referendums to raise property taxes beyond state limits to address budget shortfalls or maintain current service levels.

Two Dane County cities in addition to Madison will ask their residents to pass an operating referendum this November.

Like Madison, the cities of Monona and Fitchburg attribute their lack of funds to state limits on how much they can raise property taxes.

The village of Maple Bluff has joined the growing list of Dane County municipalities considering a property tax referendum this fall.

Officials in the village of around 1,400 residents put out a report Friday outlining the difficulty they say they are having in making revenue keep up with rising costs while maintaining current service levels in the face of high staff turnover. In response, the village is proposing an operating referendum for the November ballot to raise property taxes beyond the levy limit imposed by the state.

MIDDLETON — The bike path here is smooth and winds along a creek though stands of cottonwood, walnut, oak and elm trees that provide a picturesque backdrop and a canopy of protection from the midday sun.

As you head up stream and exit the wooded portion of the Pheasant Branch Conservancy near Parmenter Street, the landscape transitions to prairie, chunks of wetlands and the confluence pond, where the north and south forks of Pheasant Branch Creek meet.

State limits on cities’ authority to raise revenue are causing services and infrastructure to lag behind population growth, the mayors of all seven cities in Dane County said Friday at a press conference, where they urged state lawmakers to loosen the reins.

Three Dane County cities — Madison, Monona and Fitchburg — are asking their voters to pass funding referendums in November to avoid cuts to existing services. Middleton voters approved a similar referendum in 2022. And Sun Prairie Mayor Paul Esser said Friday that his city is likely to follow “in the next couple of years.”