On the playground that is Dane County, a tug of war has just begun. In the middle, the rope is tangled around the prize: the town of Madison, a small, independently governed municipality sprinkled across southern Madison.
On one end, the city of Fitchburg is yanking the town toward annexation. On the other end, the city of Madison is using its muscle to attain the same goal.
Furthermore, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, concerned about UW Arboretum lands that make up about half of the town of Madison, has put its weight firmly on the city of Madison’s side.
With the constant jockeying for position, everyone is getting sweaty and sore. Onlookers, however, should find a cushy seat because this contest will certainly go into overtime.
“The wheels of government turn very slowly,” Fitchburg city council president Jay Allen said. “This is a process that could take as long as 15 years. The town would like to stay a town as long as it could.”
History of the game
In 1846, surveyors for the then-territory of Wisconsin staked out the town of Madison as a six-mile-by-six-mile square of land. Over the years, the city of Madison has gnawed away at the boundaries through multiple annexations, reducing the town to less than four square miles of land islands surrounded by the city.
Recently, the city attempted to take the last bite. Mindful of a town-wide referendum defeating a total-annexation effort a decade ago, legislators inserted language into the 2002 state budget-repair bill that would have allowed the city to annex the town without a town vote. Although putting non-budget items into the budget is commonplace, the town was not pleased.
Amid furious accusations of undemocratic behavior, town of Madison chairman Jim Campbell sought help from Fitchburg, requesting that Fitchburg submit its own annexation bid. After the bid came in, Gov. Scott McCallum vetoed Madison’s annexation provision. The warm-up round was over.
Now, as Fitchburg prepares to submit a formal annexation petition to the Dane County Circuit Court in early September and UW gears up for a potential turf tussle over the Arboretum, attorneys from the town and both cities are attempting to negotiate a boundary deal acceptable to everyone.
However, all parties are still preserving their legal options.
UW’s stake
Slipping into the greenery of the Arboretum for a bike ride, hike or research project, most UW students don’t know — or care — that they’re entering town of Madison territory. But UW officials are sharply aware of the jurisdictional boundaries slicing up their terrain. Currently, small areas belong to the city of Madison and the city of Fitchburg, while the majority belongs to the town.
According to LaMarr Billups, special assistant for community relations to Chancellor John Wiley, UW has always wanted the Arboretum lands annexed to the city of Madison. Before Fitchburg announced its annexation intentions, however, “it just was never a priority.”
“We’ve got so many things on the stove that it was on the back burner,” Billups said. “But when Fitchburg took its action, it came back to the forefront.”
At the Aug. 22 Board of Regents meeting, Wiley called it “a bit of a shock” to discover Fitchburg’s intent to “annex the Arboretum without bothering to ask us.”
The chancellor told the regents the annexation issue was an urgent matter.
“We can’t just sit by and pretend we have no stake in this,” he said. “We have to take whatever steps are necessary to get the Arboretum annexed to the city of Madison.”
At the request of Regent President Guy Gottschalk, Wiley had previously detailed his argument for city of Madison annexation in an Aug. 14 briefing paper. His stated reasons were a five-to-three reduction of jurisdictional units, for UW must consult in day-to-day Arboretum dealings (costing an unspecified amount of money and time), facilitation of successful storm-water runoff planning (the only completely successful plan has been implemented with the city of Madison), additional flexibility and leverage in negotiating zoning issues and usage fees with the city of Madison and the possible connection of the 131 private properties embedded in the Arboretum (now using septic systems posing a potential hazard to marsh areas) to the city sewer services.
Nevertheless, some of this reasoning is based on assumptions that may not hold true. For example, the five jurisdictional units UW must deal with today — the town and city of Madison, Fitchburg, Dane County and the state — would only be reduced to three following annexation by the city of Madison if Fitchburg could be persuaded to give up its portion.
Allen said that situation is unlikely. “I don’t see any reason why Fitchburg would be compelled to give up any part of its land,” he said.
Fitchburg Mayor Mark Vivian said another concern is that the city of Madison lacks the capabilities to adequately fight fires in the Arboretum area, which, being mostly rural, does not have a network of fire hydrants.
According to Fitchburg Fire Department captain Chad Grossen, Fitchburg has two trucks, called tankers, which can carry 1,500 gallons of water each.
“Most of the time when [a fire] is in the Arboretum, we automatically page out a tanker truck,” he said.
Laurie Lovedale, fire-education specialist for the city of Madison’s fire department, said its largest capacity trucks hold 500 gallons.
Still, Billups said, “Most of all of our other property is in the city of Madison. We’ve developed a longstanding, really good, positive working relationship with the city. We’re proceeding in the way we think is in the best interest of the university.”
These procedures include an already-signed contract with a survey company to give UW “a basis for creating a legal description for the land we want to annex,” Billups said.
Only after delineating boundaries could the university begin any legal proceedings.
If Wiley does decide to take legal measures, he has the backing of the Board of Regents. By a consensus vote, the regents pre-approved “supporting Wiley in doing what needs to be done.”
“We need to authorize pulling the trigger if it’s necessary,” Regent John Barry said.
All tied up
The tug-of-war rope is beginning to look like a noose to the town of Madison.
“What we’re hearing is that, by an overwhelming majority, they’d prefer to stay a town forever and ever,” Campbell said. “They’re saying, ‘Leave us alone.'”
Even so, the chairman acknowledges these wishes probably won’t come true.
“Those who say annexation is inevitable probably would not be wrong in their analysis of [the situation],” he said. “If we don’t make some arrangement today, the city [of Madison] will continue to try to annex us by further state legislative efforts.”
The entangled town will most likely have to settle for only some say in its future.
“People should have a right to self-determination on who governs them,” Wisconsin Towns Association Urban Towns Committee Executive Committee Chair Gerald Derr said. “If the people decide they want Fitchburg, I don’t have a problem with it. But for somebody else to dictate it kind of goes against the whole idea of democracy.”
City of Madison officials counter that the town should be a part of the city because it can get all the benefits of being a city while retaining independent governance.
“It’s a basic question of fairness,” said city of Madison Ald. Tom Powell, District 5. “A lot of those people are taking advantage of the fact that they get all of the city of Madison services without paying city of Madison taxes.”
However, one thing almost everyone agrees on is it would be better to drop the rope and come to a boundary agreement off the playground.
Attorneys from all three municipalities have come to the table for negotiations, although officials have agreed not to publicly discuss specifics. Costly legal wrangling and excessive expenditure of taxpayer money can still be averted.
“All three of us have an opportunity to put this thing to rest after years of battling,” Campbell said. “I’m optimistic.”
