Monona Community Media Committee adopts 2026 operating budget; underwriting revenue handled separately

The Monona Community Media Committee voted Sept. 11 to adopt the department—s 2026 operating budget as presented, approving radio and television operating lines while noting underwriting revenue is not included in the proposed operating totals.

In the nut graf: committee members approved the budget after staff explained television and radio line items, studio maintenance changes, and that underwriting and sponsorship income is tracked to fund balance rather than included in the annual operating projection.

Key details and votes: Katie (committee member) moved approval of the operating budget and Susan (committee member) seconded; committee members voted unanimously to approve the budget as presented.

What committee members discussed: Will (community media staff) explained studio-maintenance line items and said the television studio-maintenance amount for 2026 was $4,009.88 (2025 spending was higher, around $5,760). He said the decline resulted partly from removing the Monona Go app subscription and that Adobe subscription costs increased. Will also identified a $5,000 stipend under television equipment to cover breakdowns or service needs outside the base equipment budget.

Radio and underwriting: Will outlined radio operating costs including a $500 legal fee line, streaming costs (Triton Digital), phone/Internet lines for telephone interviews, the radio automation service package, music licensing fees, TeamViewer for remote access and Spinitron for public playlists. He told the committee underwriting and sponsorship receipts are not entered as fixed budget revenue; instead, the city keeps those receipts in the fund balance. Will said underwriting revenue stood at about $5,600 as of June and the committee had received at least $1,000 more since then (committee estimate close to $7,000 year-to-date); committee members agreed underwriting revenues should remain in fund balance and be available for department use as needed.

Policy and next steps: Will said the city—s target fund balance is roughly 15–20% of operating budget; underwriting revenues are added to the fund balance and drawn down only by future departmental need. Bill said he would like a future agenda that explains underwriting mechanics in detail; the committee scheduled underwriting as a future meeting topic. Committee members also asked staff to continue updating the handbook and to return with analytics and additional program- and governance-related items at a later meeting.

Ending: With staff present to answer questions, the committee approved the operating budget and directed staff to report back on underwriting procedures and to refine handbook and programming governance items at a future meeting.