Members of Madison’s City Council debated into the early hours Thursday morning and eventually approved the city’s 2011 operating budget in a 16 to 4 vote.

Under the new budget, the overall tax levy for the city for the 2011 fiscal year will be approximately $179.5 million, a 5.08 percent increase from last year’s levy, Comptroller Dean Brasser told the council.

Ald. Bryon Eagon, District 8, said the levy was an accomplishment despite a difficult economic climate.

“I think an increase of just over 5 percent is a reasonable amount for the city to continue to build upon essential services,” Eagon said. “In a year where other municipalities and the state and federal level have faced significant cuts…we’ve been able to responsibly budget for what is important.”

The council also decided not to approve an amendment from Ald. Lauren Cnare, District 3, which proposed adding approximately $67,000 to the tax levy to avoid eliminating positions in the Madison City Channel. Under the original draft of the operating budget, two City Channel employees would have lost their jobs.

Mayor Dave Cieselwicz said while he lamented making a cut which will cause the loss of two jobs, the decision was mostly the result of what he called a “disgusting” piece of state legislation which further restricted community television. He said making the cuts was essential to maintaining the City Channel without increasing the property tax levy.

“[Residents] watch substantive discussions like this one – it’s an important part of the public record,” Cieslewicz said. “I tried to find a way to support the service with a minimum amount of burden on the taxpayer….Sometimes you really do have to make a difficult decision.”

The council eventually voted not to save the positions.

Alders also decided to table an amendment from Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, which would have given City Council members opt-in health insurance. The amendment hit controversy earlier this month when many city council members who received a survey from Maniaci said they opposed the proposal.

Along with several other alders on the council, Maniaci said the proposal was necessary to improve the crop of candidates for alder throughout Madison.

Ald. Larry Palm, District 13, also said the proposal, which legally could come up again in the city’s 2012 operating budget, would give alders an opportunity to better evaluate their roles in the community.

“We really do need to have a much larger discussion about who we are, and what are our roles,” Palm said. “Certainly I think there are a lot of people who might want to run if only they had some reason why they couldn’t.”

With the budget nearing a vote, one of the council’s most fiscally conservative members, Ald. Jed Sanborn, District 1, warned alders of the possible implications excessive city spending could have in future budgets.

Sanborn said the many capital costs from city projects soon converting to operating costs, combined with the city’s possible purchase of the Overture Center for the Arts, could have major consequences for the city’s financial future.

“I think we should be proceeding with more caution than we are,” Sanborn said. “We never build in any sort of room for error for ourselves.”