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Middleton panel previews 2026 proposed budget, aims for balanced general fund with limited new hires
Summary
Finance staff presented a proposed 2026 budget that balances the general fund by trimming department requests and building in a $430,000 personnel contingency. Key constraints include low property tax growth and inflation-driven cost pressures; the proposal delays some hires and adds a midyear EMS deputy chief.
Bill, the committee’s budget presenter, told the Finance and Personnel Committee that total 2026 general fund requests exceed estimated revenues by about $1.8 million and that the proposed plan adds roughly $524,000 in revenues and trims about $1.2 million in requests to present a balanced proposal. "Total expenditures, including all the department requests, came in at just under 28,000,000," he said.
The proposal assumes modest revenue growth from property-tax base expansion — net new construction of 1.45% projected to generate about $224,000 — but warned that inflation and wage pressures outpace that gain. Bill said shared state revenue is up about 3.5% (roughly $31,000), while the city has lost eligibility for the state expenditure-restraint aid (the statutory $5 per thousand floor), costing about $35,000.
Personnel assumptions are conservative: the budget delays filling an HR generalist until mid-2026 and includes only one additional general-fund FTE, an EMS deputy chief proposed to start July 1. A $430,000 personnel contingency is included to fund the nonunion compensation and classification study implementation and placeholders for upcoming police and EMS union contract settlements. "There is 1 new position included in the General Fund, and that is an EMS Deputy Chief position," Bill said.
On capital, staff proposed a ~$4.35 million borrowing target for 2026 (down from roughly $7.5 million in requests), prioritizing street projects and vehicle replacement while removing about $3.0 million in requested capital. Bill also noted a prospective levy-limit adjustment after TIF District 3 closes, estimating $1.0–$1.1 million in capacity that could fund carryover items or full-year impacts of midyear hires.
Committee members pressed staff for follow-up details: historical spending for recurring maintenance such as roofs, clarification of how library transfers interact with Dane County tax-exemption eligibility, and validation of revenue assumptions for building permits and ambulance billing. Bill said staff will gather additional departmental records and return with more detail at subsequent committee meetings.
The committee scheduled remaining budget deliberations over the next two Finance and Personnel meetings with a direction-for-publication deadline on October 7, a public hearing and amendment session in early November, and target adoption of the budget and tax levy later in November.
