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Madison Municipal Court says collections down from about $11.75M to $7.89M; budget is cost-to-continue
Summary
Judge Koval and court administrator Christy Zamber told the Common Council the Municipal Court's 2026 executive budget is cost-to-continue and reported a reduction in outstanding collections from about $11.75 million to $7.89 million since the prior audit period.
The Municipal Court told the Madison Common Council on Oct. 13 that its 2026 executive operating budget is a cost-to-continue proposal and includes no program expansions. Judge Koval and court administrator Christy Zamber described staffing, software and postage as the court’s primary expenses and outlined current collection practices for past-due fines and judgments.
The court reported that an audit covering 2019 through mid-2023 showed an outstanding collections balance of about $11,750,000. Zamber said the current outstanding balance is approximately $7,890,000. She said the largest judgments remain concentrated: five cases account for about $9,800,000, and two of those already have transcripts of judgment filed.
“We continue to send past due cases to the most efficient collection programs that we have,” Christy Zamber, court administrator, said, explaining the court’s approach. When identifying information exists for an individual debtor, the court refers cases to the state debt collection program; that program is used because the city pays no commission fee to use it. For corporate or building-code judgments, the court works with the city attorney on filing transcripts of judgment.
Zamber said the court will leave cases with the state program for about one year and then refer unsuccessful collections back to the city attorney for additional action. Where identifying information is missing, the court may refer a small percentage of cases to private collection agencies, but she said staff try to avoid that because of commission fees.
Judge Koval and Zamber also described the court’s willingness to work with people to resolve forfeitures through payment plans or community service where appropriate. Alder Aldo Rivera asked specifically about the status of implementing internal audit recommendations on collections; Zamber described the current mix of referrals and the declined outstanding balance as evidence of ongoing work to improve collection outcomes.
The court appeared before the committee as the first agency briefing in the council’s review of the 2026 executive operating budget and did not propose any new positions or service changes for 2026.
