Madison City Council voted 16-4 last night to execute an intergovernmental agreement between the city of Madison, the town of Madison, and the city of Fitchburg, which will lead to an eventual annexation, over a period of 20 years, of the town of Madison by the cities of Madison and Fitchburg.

In an impassioned speech against the vote, mayoral candidate Eugene Parks declared the agreement a poor move on the part of both Fitchburg and the city of Madison, because the residents of the town of Madison are not paying any extra taxes to receive the benefits of living in either of the two cities.

“Fitchburg and [the city of] Madison are getting a brunt of a deal here — giving [the town of Madison] revenue — not shared revenue — but revenue,” Parks said. “Last week, Fitchburg adopted an 11 percent property-tax increase to add 11 firefighters to its force — and [the town residents] are giving us nothing. This is insanity. Stop taking Madison taxpayers to the laundry.”

Former mayor and mayoral candidate Paul Soglin also saw the agreement as a potential financial blow to the city.

“This agreement will cost us $1 million a year for 20 years. For those of you who wish to discuss economics, think of what you could get for $20 million,” he said.

Others present at the meeting expressed concern that residents of the town of Madison were intimidated into complying with the agreement and that the decision itself was being rushed.

“I have never heard of a situation where a city has been intimidated, entirely capitulated,” said Soglin.

“A letter was sent to town [of Madison] residents saying, ‘Warning — Don’t Sign The Petition,'” said Steve Braughman of the Madison Urban League, referring to a petition against the agreement that was sent to town residents. “This is a violation of the First Amendment, and the whole process of this agreement is extremely bothersome,” he continued.

Mayoral candidate Bert Zipperer was also present.

“For me, it’s the border that’s so bizarre, and we’ll wait 20 years to complete it. I can understand two years, but why 20?” he asked. “The legal agreement is not easy, and we’ve been given two weeks to review it. Fitchburg should drop all its weapons and defer [the negotiations] for two or three months, but it will not do that.”

However, some at the meeting believed the city of Madison would profit from the agreement.

“The town of Madison is going out of business without a fight,” said Attorney Richard Nordeng, representing the town of Madison, “[The town] is also giving assurance that the city will take over 90 percent of this business. The city is getting early joint land-use authority. It now has a strong say over what occurs in land it will receive. The city gets a say in development. This is something it has been trying to do through negotiations for years and something that has been causing tension between the communities.”

Ald. Matt Sloan, District 13, moved an adoption of the agreement.

“No one can say an agreement is perfect,” he said. “We are struggling to do now what the city of Madison has been struggling to do now for the better half of a century, and look where it’s gotten us. For the first time, we are allowed the opportunity to stop fighting and begin working on the problems in neighborhoods. What other alternatives do we have?”

A signing ceremony will take place Friday morning at the town of Madison Town Hall, and over the next two months, details of the agreement will be worked out under a cooperative plan. A joint public hearing will take place in March to gather input from the public. The agreement then must be approved by the State Department of Administration.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Ald. Kent Palmer, District 15, bid farewell to the Madison City Council.

Palmer is moving to Cambridge, Wis., to marry his fiancée.

“My new family is incredibly polite and well-behaved,” said Palmer, referring to his five- and seven-year-old stepchildren. “I’m so, so proud. I’m moving on. I’m really going to miss everyone at the mayor’s office, but without the City Council, nothing gets done. It’s really amazing for me.”

The 17th District Dane County Supervisor, Andy Olsen, will replace Palmer.

Both ordinances sponsored by Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, prohibiting landlords to charge tenants for carpet cleaning or more than a 5 percent late fee, were unanimously passed.

Also, an ordinance sponsored by Ald. Dorothy Borchardt, District 12, allowing landlords to charge tenants double the cost of damages incurred, was referred to the city attorney’s office, to be reviewed by the City Council at a later date.