The City of Madison Common Council on Tuesday carried out the first reading of an ordinance to reestablish the cumulative capital development (Q Cap) fund maximum rate at 5 cents per $100 of net assessed value, a measure city officials said would create modest capital revenue as state property tax changes reduce other local revenues.

City staff explained the Q Cap fund is a statutorily authorized local option tax used for capital and infrastructure purposes (sidewalks, facility repairs, municipal reinvestment). The city’s current adopted rate is 3.34 cents; staff and the ordinance language presented would reestablish the fund at the 5‑cent statutory maximum and provide the council flexibility during the upcoming budget process to set the final rate and appropriations.

Officials cautioned the measure’s final fiscal effect depends on several variables, including net assessed values, circuit‑breaker credits, and other changes in state law. Staff estimated—based on current assessed‑value assumptions and accounting for caps and credits—the rate change could generate roughly $100,000 in additional annual capital revenue, but the estimate will be refined during the city’s budget process and as state rules from recent legislation are finalized.

How it will proceed

Ordinances in Madison take two readings unless council suspends the rules; the council completed the first reading Tuesday and scheduled the required public hearing and the second reading for subsequent meetings. City staff said the measure simply reestablishes the statutory maximum for the Q Cap fund; any final tax rate and budgeted appropriations would still be adopted through the normal budget hearings later in the year.

Residents at the meeting asked how much the change would affect individual property taxes. Staff provided a ballpark example: a $150,000 home could see roughly a $13‑per‑year increase under the estimate they offered, but they cautioned that many owner‑occupied residential parcels in Madison are already at the state’s 1 percent property tax cap and therefore may not see an increase.

The council did not take a final vote on the ordinance Tuesday; the measure will return for a second reading and a public hearing.