Madison finance staff outline 2026 ‘cost to continue’ budget gap; investment income cushions 2024 results

Director Schmidicki presented the update to the Finance Committee of the City of Madison on June 23, outlining 2024 year‑end results, a preliminary 2025 outlook and a cost‑to‑continue projection for 2026 that leaves an initial budget gap of about $6.2 million.

Schmidicki said the city’s net position for governmental and business‑type activities was roughly $2.1 billion at Dec. 31, 2024, up about $246 million from 2023, and that the enterprise funds’ net position was about $1.1 billion. He told the committee the unassigned general fund balance finished “just under $111,000,000, just up about $28,000,000 from 2023,” or roughly 27% of the 2025 budget.

Why it matters: high investment earnings and underspending because of vacancies boosted reserves in 2024, improving near‑term flexibility. But Schmidicki warned that much of that cushion is one‑time money; the city’s five‑year outlook projects spending gaps in later years and anticipates using fund balance to smooth near‑term shortfalls while considering permanent revenue options such as special charges.

Key facts and figures - Unassigned general fund balance: about $111,000,000 (≈27% of the 2025 budget). (Schmidicki) - Total governmental fund balances: $379,000,000. (Schmidicki) - City net position (primary government): ~$2.1 billion; enterprise funds:…