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Middleton committee backs 2026 city budget with targeted amendments
Summary
The Middleton Finance & Personnel Committee voted to recommend approval of the 2026 city budget, approving amendments that reallocate $70,000 for Middleton Operation Center concrete repairs, add $10,000 for a Woodside Heights swing set, and adjust the sewer utility budget to reflect Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District charges and a projected 5.4% overall rate increase.
The Middleton Finance & Personnel Committee voted to recommend that the Common Council approve the city'026 budget after adopting several targeted amendments.
Committee members accepted staff recommendations to reallocate $70,000 that had been budgeted in 2025 for an overhead door replacement at the Middleton Operation Center (MOC) to pay for higher-priority concrete repairs, with the overhead door funds to be requested in a future budget. Bill, speaking for administration, said the transfer addresses an urgent maintenance need and noted the MOC concrete repair item is also listed separately as resolution 2025-51.
The committee also approved a $10,000 amendment to the 2026 capital playground replacement project to fund a replacement swing set at Woodside Heights Park, to be funded from 2025 fund-balance carryover. Parks staff said the playground replacement RFP targets a June 10 installation window and will explore whether the swing set could be expedited; staff noted Stricker Park provides nearby swings as a short-term alternative.
On utilities, staff reported that the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District had provided a 2026 cost range for Middleton between $2.9 million and $3.1 million. "We recommend amending the sewer utility operating budget to increase the MMSD fees by $168,650 and increasing sewer utility revenue by $224,528," Bill said, adding that "that ends up being a 5.4% overall increase in rates" while individual customer impacts would vary by meter size.
The committee approved an amendment to implement those MMSD line adjustments and also approved an amendment to direct staff to allocate the personnel contingency by fund and department for levy-supported funds and to adjust budgets for non-levy funds to reflect final compensation plan allocations. Staff told members that the recommended budget as transmitted does not include the proposed utility retention package and that any future adoption of such a plan could be handled via amendment or as part of compensation-plan implementation.
The committee approved the main motion as amended and will forward its recommendation to the Common Council for final action.
The committee took voice votes on the various motions; committee members recorded "ayes" and the chair announced that "the ayes have it." The record does not contain a roll-call tally for each vote.
