Madison begins 2026 budget review as utilities warn of PFAS costs and rising electric capacity charges

Madison convened a budget-focused council meeting in which public-works, water and electric utility leaders outlined accomplishments, capital needs and looming regulatory and market costs that could influence the 2026 municipal budget.

Ryan Fury, the borough’s water utility presenter, told the council the borough has received about $1,100,000 from the DuPont/3M PFAS settlement and expects “a little north of $1,600,000” total by 2033, funds he said will help defray the high cost of PFAS treatment. Fury said the borough is planning pilot studies and design work so it can act quickly if federal or state regulators adopt a more stringent four-part-per-trillion standard: “If they do go through with the 4 part per trillion standard … the borough should be ready to start implementing treatment,” he said.

Fury also reported system performance metrics and infrastructure needs. He said Madison’s calculated water loss for the system was about 14.8% in 2025—slightly below the state average—and that two storage tanks built in 1952 (about 505,000 and 750,000 gallon capacities) passed inspections with recommended maintenance. He noted a recent utility study shows current allocation permits (about 4.9 million gallons) and peak usage near 2.5 million gallons per day, but added the council should still examine whether to refurbish or replace tanks: “You can knock that down, put up a new one, maybe make it a 1,200,000 gallon tank,” Fury said as one option to address long-term capacity and maintenance costs.

Electric utility leaders and the borough’s finance presenter warned of market-driven price pressure on electricity. Jim (council presenter) and Vince Patty, superintendent of the electric department, cited recent PJM market rule changes and higher block-contract and capacity costs as drivers that have increased projected electric expenses. Patty listed recent infrastructure work—new riser pole transformers, EV chargers and solar carport interconnection—and outlined 2026 plans including relay upgrades, GIS mapping and transformer replacements. But on costs he said: “block contracts have more than doubled in price” compared with recent low-year pricing, and capacity and transmission charges are also up.

Council members asked about demand-management options. Officials described a residential pilot time-of-use program already in place and said the council should prioritize time-of-use or metering strategies for commercial customers first, because about half of town’s consumption is concentrated among roughly 50 top commercial customers. The administration proposed encouraging commercial customers to shift load off the 3–7 p.m. peak window to manage capacity charges.

Taken together, the presentations framed capital decision points the council will face this spring: whether to increase capital-improvement allocations for water-tank work and treatment design, how to deploy PFAS settlement proceeds, and how to respond to rising electric procurement and transmission expenses. The council scheduled four budget review sessions leading to the introduction of the official municipal budget in late March and a public hearing and vote on April 27.

What’s next: council members asked staff for more detailed cost breakdowns and options for shared procurement or regional partnerships for PFAS treatment design; staff said they will return with that material in the coming weeks.