Madison Mayor Paul Soglin is asking city agencies to propose suggestions for placement of five percent budget cut in hopes of closing the budget gap for next year.
Soglin said he estimates the budget gap next year will be $10 million. He said right now he does not have any speculations about where exactly the cuts will take place.
“The point of asking the agencies is to get their recommendations, so when I get those, I’ll know what the impact is and how it will affect city services,” Soglin said.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, mayors have been submitting similar budget requests to city agencies for years. He added that in prior years, the fire and police departments have been exempt from supplying cuts but that Soglin has not exempted them from cuts since returning to office.
According to Soglin, city agencies will have their budget drafts completed in about four to six weeks. He said five percent is the maximum any single agency will be cut, a percentage that was determined as a function of other city revenues.
Verveer said the city budget is not finalized until mid-November and goes into effect Jan. 1.
Madison Police Department Chief Noble Wray said a five percent cut is a high percentage compared to previous years, which have involved one percent cuts.
According to Wray, with a five percent budget cut, MPD will have to find a way to cut $3.2 million out of a $60 million operating budget.
“Although we have not determined exactly where we would cut because we are so personnel-intensive, there’s no way to cut $3.2 million without layoffs, reducing staff members or not hiring people,” Wray said. “About 85 percent of our budget goes toward personnel, contracts and things like that.”
Wray said although the budget cuts are currently hypothetical, he has to begin working with his staff to determine the priorities of the city.
He said the proactive police services people are accustomed to having, such as neighborhood officers, are typically the first to get cut. He added every year he has been MPD chief, the mayor has elected not to lay off police officers.
According to Wray, MPD must submit the target of a five percent budget cut by Aug. 6 for Soglin to review before releasing his executive operating budget.
Verveer added that he and Soglin are sponsoring a budget request for another $50,000 toward the Downtown Safety Initiative.
“I’m confident that neither the mayor nor City Council will cut services to the downtown campus area,” Verveer said.
He added the city is providing more money for downtown safety currently than in past years due to the recent shooting on the 600 block of University Avenue.
Wray said Soglin’s request is an early one in the budget process and citizens should not be overly concerned about cuts at this time.
“I think citizens understand that we are in tough economic times and that based upon cuts from the state of Wisconsin, we do have a tough budget that we have to try and deal with,” Wray said. “I’m going to always advocate as chief that we don’t lay off officers.”
