The city of Madison will come alive with music next year after Board of Estimates members voted unanimously to recommend amendments to the 2015 executive operating budget Monday that provide funding for citywide events such as the Revelry and Make Music Madison festivals.
The budget amendments include providing $5,000 for Revelry Music and Arts Festival, offering $20,000 to Make Music Madison and $25,000 for Madison Songwriting Conference and Festival.
UW-Madison students attended the meeting to speak on funding for Revelry, a festival previously funded solely by donations and entering its third year of running.
Sarah Bergman, president of the Wisconsin Union, said festival administrators relied on donations from different university establishments including the Office of the Chancellor and Dean of Students Office.
“The only way we’re going to continue to have this festival is if we look toward more sustainable sources and we’re looking towards the city for this year,” Bergman said.
Former Revelry director and UW junior Josh Levin said the event has “grown hugely” in popularity since its onset in 2013. Festival attendees nearly doubled from approximately 3,000 the first year to more than 6,000 last spring, according to Levin.
The city has enjoyed a safer end to the spring semester with Revelry since arrests during the celebration on Mifflin Street decreased significantly and costs for the Madison Police Department decreased from approximately $200,000 to $94,000, according to Levin.
“I think that as more and more students support [Revelry], this is a standalone event that has some real merit to it,” MPD Chief Michael Koval said. “I’ve seen their numbers increasing over the years so I think that’s beneficial.”
Koval credited a smaller attendance to this year’s Mifflin Street celebration and better management of resources for city events for the decrease in overtime MPD officers spend on the field.
Board of Estimates members also expressed support for Make Music Madison taking place next summer for the third year in a row.
“Next year we hope to continue and tell the community we’re not just bringing the music but helping the city building community,” Michael Rothschild, the festival director, said.
The amendments are part of a $283 million budget that the City Council will vote to approve during their next meeting, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
