At an informational meeting last night, Water Quality Manager Joseph Grande and other City of Madison officials discussed changes current Town of Madison residents can expect to see when they join the City of Madison in October.
“For those customers who are not currently on city water and not receiving a water bill from the utility, they will receive a municipal services bill that will look something like this, or at least will have these charges on it. It’ll have public fire protection, which is a small charge, there will be a storm water charge, and there will be an urban forestry charge,” Grande said.
At the same time, some residents voiced concern about seeing an increase in their property taxes. In a 2020 interview with the city of Madison’s engineering division’s podcast, Madison Planning Division Director Heather Stouder acknowledged a tax hike is likely:
“So they’ll see an increase in service availability, representation, and also on the flip side of that, and one thing that we’re keeping a close eye on, is a likely increase in property tax for property owners,” said Stouder.
Stouder adds that while renters may not directly see an increase in property taxes, they still might feel the tax hike after landlords pass on the cost of higher property taxes. She says that’s something the city is keeping a close eye on.
The situation is different in neighboring Fitchburg, which is absorbing approximately 1400 residents from the Town of Madison. Fitchburg city administrator Chad Breckland emphasized the new services those residents will have access to.
“We have a wider range of services that we provide here in the City of Fitchburg by a dedicated team of employees who are interested in the new neighborhood that’s coming in from the town of Madison, and we’ll look to do an assessment of facilities such as parks, amenities, and roads in that particular neighborhood as an example and make necessary improvements,” said Breckland.
The City of Madison has set up community navigators for the change, and more informational meetings are coming in June and August. Many details are available at https://www.cityofmadison.com/city-hall/town-of-madison. If you live in the Town of Madison, you can get your question answered by emailing townofmadisonattachment@cityofmadison.com or calling 608-267-1188.
Photo courtesy of Martin Rakacolli/WORT Flickr.
