Finance director reports cash, investments and a possible $500K sales-tax impact from Measure 28

At the July 15 meeting the City of Madison’s finance office announced staffing changes, presented current cash and investment balances, and warned the commission of a potential sales-tax hit from a statewide consumables-tax initiative known in the discussion as Measure 28.

Finance staff introduced Heather Peterson as the city’s new deputy finance officer. Staff said the 2025 budget worksheets were issued to department heads and reminded the commission that the city is roughly 49.73% through the fiscal year.

Staff reported holdings and account yields: general cash on hand was reported as $22,190,000; restricted cash roughly $613,927; and several investment accounts (IntraFi and an SDFIB account) with balances and yields were listed. Finance staff said the SDFIB account offered particularly strong returns and that staff plan to keep a large share of investments there.

On Measure 28 — a proposed change to taxable consumables — staff said the Department of Revenue had limited ability to provide exact local impacts. Working with peer cities and using 2023 data, staff provided a conservative projection that a consumables tax change could lower local sales tax collections by roughly $457,000 (and, with current growth assumptions, possibly about $502,000 next year). Finance staff said they would continue monitoring the initiative and work with other municipalities on planning responses.

Commissioners thanked staff for the update. There were no public comments recorded during the finance segment.