MADISON – Today, Dane County Executive Jamie Kuhn released her 2025 County Budget Proposal. “This budget is focused on strengthening our connections with families through continued investment in the programs and services valued by our people and community,” said Kuhn. “This budget is about fulfilling our mission to respond to public needs and treating every individual with respect and dignity.”
County Executive Kuhn unveiled her budget today at the Elver Park Community Center, home to one of the 17 Dane County Joining Forces for Families (JFF) offices across the county. The 2025 Budget includes additional funds for JFF to increase capacity to provide housing connections in the northwest region of Dane County. JFF works through neighborhood-based locations to better serve people close to where they live, reaching over 1,000 families annually. “JFF has been a life line for families as they navigate often complex systems to connect with the services they need,” said Kuhn. “The funds for a new position will help more families stay in the neighborhoods they call home.”
The 2025 Budget also includes additional staff support in the Dane County Veterans Service Office to connect veterans with eligible services as quickly as possible. With increased benefits available from the federal government through the PACT Act, it is imperative that veterans in our community receive the care they have earned and this addition increases the number of veterans that can be served.
The budget includes funding to plan and establish a new Dementia Care Unit in Adult Protective Services. With approximately 10,000 people in Dane County living with some form of dementia, many families struggle to find support for their loved ones before they end up in crisis. Badger Prairie Health Center will house the new unit. There is also additional funding for Dementia case management to respond to increasing need for connections for those with dementia and their families.
“As we see changes in the economy, our goal in this budget is to prioritize community needs by identifying and funding gaps in services and ensuring we are being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” said Executive Kuhn.”
County Board Chair Patrick Miles joined County Executive Kuhn today as the budget was released. “I am grateful to the County Executive for her outreach to the Board of Supervisors and the public as she put the budget together,” said Chair Miles (District 34). “We on the Board look forward to our continued collaboration as we shepherd it through the process.”
Highlights of the 2025 Budget Include:
- Maintain core services across departments
- Increase language access through new bilingual positions in multiple departments
- Support for public safety across the county
- Increase access and connections for individuals to reentry and jail diversion programs
- Commit $10 million to the Affordable Housing Fund to continue addressing the affordable housing challenges across the county
- Commit $10 million to the Dane County Conservation Fund
- Fund improvements to the Alliant Energy Center campus and move forward with next steps for Exposition Hall expansion
- Dedicate funds to expand Sunshine Place which serves as a community resource hub serving eastern Dane County with $2 million in capital financing.
- Invest $16.6 million in county highway projects across the county
The 2025 budget proposal totals $903,471,341 million. This is a 6.72% decrease from 2024. The operating budget is $813,035,159 million. The capital plan is $90,436,152 million, a 49.54% decrease from 2024. The tax rate is $2.57 per $1,000 of equalized value, down from $2.73 in 2024. The budget raises taxes on the average Madison home by $17.04, a levy increase of 1.47%.
The 2025 Budget now goes to the County Board for consideration in the coming weeks, with final passage scheduled for late October. The public can participate in a number of ways throughout the process to share their thoughts.
The full proposal can be found here.
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