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Madison’s proposed 2012 Operating Budget includes increased property taxes, cuts to funding for the Overture Center, allocated funds for a drug task force and a position to enforce safety standards in buildings on and off campus, Mayor Paul Soglin announced in a press conference Tuesday. 

Soglin said the budget totals between $10 and $12 million in savings and increased revenue.

These cuts leave the proposed 2012 budget at $250.4 million, up $2 million from last year. In the past, the city has seen budget jumps of up to $10 million from year to year, he said. 

Soglin attributed the city’s ability to make cuts to a mix of “tough decisions and luck.” The luck part, he explained, was the city’s ability to successfully negotiate with police and the relatively low costs of health insurance rates.

Although Soglin repeatedly said he would ideally keep property taxes below 3 percent, the actual projection for the taxes for the 2012 budget came in at 3.24 percent. He said the higher rate gives him a chance to avoid making significant cuts to services.

The budget also allows for the Overture Center to receive $1.35 million instead of the $2 million agreed upon in 2010. The mayor said he believes the private sector would pick up this discrepancy in funding.

While Soglin was unable to fulfill all of his originally intended budgetary proposals, he said in a statement he was pleased that he was able to keep to his goal of avoiding layoffs and minimizing furloughs. The budget does not call for any layoffs, but calls for some furlough days for employees of the City Attorneys Association because agreements have not yet been reached for these employees to contribute to healthcare and retirement pensions, the statement said.

Soglin attributed much of the cuts outlined in the operating budget to the lack of funding provided for the city from the state. He said Wisconsin is facing harsh budget cuts that slash significant funding to local municipalities across the state.

Funding the budget was also made more difficult by provisions such as Gov. Scott Walker’s voter ID bill, Soglin said.

“There is a significant increase in the costs that come with next year’s election,” Soglin said. “There are increased costs to the voter ID bill – this cost is $345,000. This is what we call an unfunded mandate.”

Still, the budget allows for some additional programs and services to be added throughout the city.

The city will create a drug task force to slow what Soglin said is a growing problem in the city. The $45,000 in funding set aside in the budget for this project will pay three police officers who will develop strategies to address the issue.

The city will also add an additional building inspector to increase minimum code enforcement and up student safety on campus, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said.

“The additional building inspection is good for students,” Resnick said. “The inspector will make students safer – I’m very happy to see this.”

Soglin still insisted the cuts made outweigh the additions and created a budget that was not viable in the long run.

“The budget is not sustainable over a certain period of time,” he said. “In two to three years, if nothing changes, there will be a gap, and [this] will be directly out of services. I don’t know if there is hope while Scott Walker is in the governor’s mansion in the Capitol, but I hold out some hope.”

The executive proposal is only the beginning of the budget process. Next, the budget is reviewed by city alders, who will have the opportunity to make amendments.

“All alders have seen the Capitol budget; we will have opportunity to make amendments,” Resnick said. “Certain things I like, but some I do not.”

Resnick said he was still reading through portions of the budget and would have a stronger view as to what he would like to see changed once the budget came up for review in front of the City Council.