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Finance Committee OKs Madison Police acceptance of limited training grants with reporting and city-attorney review
Summary
The Finance Committee unanimously approved a resolution allowing the Madison Police Department to accept training grants (budget-limited, noted as $50,000) with yearly reporting and city-attorney review; the policy excludes grants that would create ongoing positions.
The Madison Finance Committee on Jan. 5, 2026, voted unanimously to authorize the Madison Police Department to accept grants for officer training on an ongoing basis, limiting the acceptance to amounts already budgeted and requiring annual reporting and city-attorney review.
The measure, listed as Legistar 910026, was presented after staff described a missed opportunity last year when detectives were offered out-of-state scholarships to training on violence against women but could not accept the awards in time. "This resolution came about out of a situation that arose last year, when we had an opportunity for some detectives to attend training, out of state for violence against women," Assistant chief Valente said, explaining that late scholarship timing previously forced the department to decline the awards.
Valente said the authority is "exclusively for training" and that the department would accept amounts within the existing budget (cited in the presentation as $50,000) and provide an annual report of those activities, with the city attorney reviewing any proposed acceptance for legal concerns. Alder Madison pressed for limits: "This does not give you the ability to accept that without coming to council?" Valente answered, "That is correct. This is only for training."
Alder Figueroa Cole sought reassurance that the policy would not allow staff to accept grants to fund ongoing positions or to convert small grants into continuous budget commitments. "People were concerned that this will give you the authority to accept, like, grants for the CUPS grant, for example," she said, adding she wanted to make clear that was not the purpose. Staff confirmed the intent is to allow one-off training opportunities to be accepted promptly while preserving oversight.
The committee moved, seconded and recorded a unanimous vote in favor. The resolution requires the department to report on accepted training grants at year-end and to route acceptances through the city attorney when legal review is needed.
