Politics
Wisconsin Shared Revenue Bill Adjusts Municipal Aid Formulas, Increasing Madison Allocations While Reducing Amounts for Smaller Dane County Towns
Madison city budgets will receive an additional $12 million in state shared revenue next year under the new formula, allowing expanded road repairs and library hours while nearby villages see cuts that may raise local property taxes.
How we reported this
The Wisconsin Legislature passed Senate Bill 456 on June 28, which revises the state shared revenue formula used to distribute unrestricted aid to cities, villages and towns. Madison will receive a larger share based on updated population density and sales tax generation figures, while several smaller Dane County municipalities will see reduced payments.
Why the change matters now
State budget documents released by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau in May showed that current aid levels had not kept pace with inflation in service costs since the last major adjustment in 2019. The new bill ties distributions more closely to 2024 census and economic data, shifting dollars toward larger employment centers including Madison.
For Madison residents this means the city can fund an extra 15 full-time public works positions without raising property taxes in 2027, according to the bill's fiscal note. Families living near the Capitol will see continued bus route frequency on Metro Transit routes 2 and 10, while households in towns such as Cottage Grove and Deerfield face the possibility of reduced snow plowing frequency or library branch hours after their aid drops by an average of 8 percent.
Local advocates note that the legislation states aid calculations now weight commercial property values more heavily, directing resources to jurisdictions with large downtown tax bases like Madison's. Renters in the city may benefit indirectly if the additional funds stabilize municipal fees for garbage collection and recycling, which have risen 6 percent annually in recent years.
Numbers behind the shift
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates total statewide shared revenue at $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2027. Madison's portion rises from $48 million to $60 million, while the combined allocation for the remaining 33 Dane County municipalities falls from $22 million to $19 million. These figures appear in the bill's enrolled version posted on the legislature's website.
City officials must adopt their 2027 budget by November 15. The next step requires the Department of Revenue to issue final aid certificates by August 1 using the revised formula, after which Madison's Common Council will hold public hearings on how to allocate the increase across departments.