ECONOMY & OPPORTUNITY

Madison can have a strong economy and still have people struggling to afford life here.

Wages can rise while housing, food, childcare and other costs rise faster. Businesses can grow while small businesses struggle with increasing costs. New development can add value to the city without necessarily giving the City enough revenue to keep up with the services that growth requires.

A strong economy should create opportunity for the people who live and work here—and help strengthen the City that supports it.

READ THE POLICY SUMMARY

THE PLAN

  • Make work pay.
    Measure what it actually costs to live in Madison and how wages are keeping up. Before setting a wage goal, understand the impact on workers, small businesses, City employees and the cost of doing business. Then work to restore Madison's ability to set a local minimum wage.

  • Know where Madison's money goes.
    Create a Madison Money Map that shows where City money comes from, where it goes, what the City controls and what is controlled by the State. Make it easier to see where Madison is gaining money, losing money or carrying costs it cannot control.

  • Get Madison what it's paying for.
    Measure what it costs Madison to provide services to tax-exempt state properties and compare that with what the State actually reimburses. Before asking residents to pay more or cutting services, make sure Madison is pursuing the money it should be receiving for services it already provides.

  • Measure the real cost of budget decisions.
    Don't look at cuts one department at a time. Before reducing a program to meet a budget target, look at what happens somewhere else. A cut isn't a savings if it simply creates another cost.

  • Know when an incentive is worth it.
    Measure what Madison receives from programs like ERIP against what it costs the City to qualify. Don't preserve state aid automatically if doing so ultimately costs Madison more.

  • Make investment work both ways.
    When City investments help reduce homelessness, emergency response, repeated crisis calls or other ongoing costs, measure those results. Use what works to reduce pressure on City services and make better decisions about where to invest next.

  • Help local businesses stay strong.
    Understand what's making it harder for small businesses to survive and grow—from rising labor and operating costs to rent, fees and other pressures. Work directly with business owners to identify what's getting in the way and where the City can help remove barriers, especially as we work toward higher wages.

THE OUTCOME

More people able to build a stable life in Madison. Businesses that can grow and succeed. A City that understands where its money is going, gets what it should for the services it provides, and invests in solutions that make Madison stronger over time.