Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced an initiative Wednesday to use $600,000 in state aid payments to help fund childcare and promote fiscal responsibility.

According to City Council President Austin King, receiving $600,000 from the state is "good news."

He said it will allow the city to use $425,000 of these funds to reduce the burden on taxpayers. The money, King added, will be used as cash for things the city would otherwise be forced to include in the Capital Budget.

King also said the funds devoted to childcare will be a $225,000 increase in funding over last year's funds.

"We've had a very tight budget in recent years, and it's been very difficult to do anything but staying in place," said George Twigg, spokesperson for the mayor. "But this year, we've had some opportunities that have allowed us to increase the funding for different areas."

One of these areas, Twigg added, is childcare assistance for low-income families. He said $125,000 of the state funds will add to the $50,000 the mayor has already contributed to the program.

Twigg said these substantial funds will increase funding for childcare by 50 percent, making child care more affordable and increasing its quality throughout the city.

"This is a major step forward," Twigg said. "It provides tuition assistance for low-income families, so they can afford to send their children to city accredited child-care facilities."

The funds will not only keep the cost of health care down, but they will also free up families to find jobs in the workforce, King said.

And King added the extra funding for childcare is a big step for Madison, considering money toward childcare has remained at a flat rate for the past 15 years. He also said the City Council fought for additional funding last year, but failed to gain support.

"If child care costs more than you're being paid, there is no way you can afford to work," King said. "This will encourage a lot of people to enter the workforce."

With this initiative, King added, more children will be able to get the primary education they need and families will not have to spend as much money to get that experience.

Twigg agreed more funding is the key to a better experience for children and their families.

"It will help more low-income children to take part in child care, so that's good for them in terms of having a good developmental environment," Twigg said. "It will also help their parents in peace of mind, so they know their children are being taken care of."

The mayor said in a release his initiative will benefit not only families with children, but also taxpayers across the city. Overall, he added, the plan will prove to make Madison even more fiscally responsible.

"It has been estimated that every dollar invested in early childhood education saves $7 in the long-run," Cieslewicz said. "The debt reduction initiative will reduce the city's level of borrowing, resulting in significant savings for taxpayers."

— Blake Anderson contributed to this report.