Dane County planning staff cuts reduce capacity for regional housing work, committee told

Chair Doolin called the Zoning and Land Regulation Committee to order and confirmed a quorum. "All committee members are present. Excellent. We have a quorum," Doolin said.

Planning and Development Director Todd Violante told the committee the department met a 4% reduction target for the proposed 2026 operating budget by eliminating contractual project help and reducing staff. "Our reduction goal was $140,000 and 60% of that reduction came from eliminating a contractual arrangement we have with the UW's Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture for 2 project assistance. That was an amount of about $81,000 for 2026," Violante said. He added the remainder of the cut came from eliminating half of a three-year project position and that the executive's budget would remove an additional half of that project FTE as well as a recently vacant housing planner position created in the 2024 budget.

Violante also told the committee the capital request for a new zoning vehicle was reduced from $65,000 in the department submittal to $40,000 in the…