Representatives from the Madison Police Department and Overture Center discussed their goals with Mayor Paul Soglin and city alders to determine the 2014 city operating budget at a Board of Estimates meeting Monday.
A point of contention at the meeting was the proposed budget for MPD. Soglin proposed a $65,000 budget for MPD, although the department requested $100,000.
Part of the money MPD requested would fund downtown police officers during peak hours, according to interim Police Chief Randy Gaber.
“That money that’s in our budget is desperately needed,” Gaber said.
The difficulty in establishing an executive operating budget comes with the relatively small amount of money to be dispersed among 21 institutions, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
“It really presents a quandary for the mayor and city Council as to how to fund [the Downtown Safety Initiative] for next year because the reality is they will be in excess of $100,000 and the city budget is so tight,” Verveer said.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the police believed the budget cuts would result in downtown officers doing more overtime work and “drastic impacts on the ability to manage services downtown.”
But Resnick said he thinks MPD could provide necessary staff to downtown areas whether they received the funding or not, and the department could consider other cost-saving measures.
The Overture Center is also facing cuts to its budget. Betty Harris Custer spoke on behalf of the Overture and stressed the importance of their annual student scholarships and free or reduced-cost performances.
Custer said if the budget is cut there will be fewer of these performances and opportunities, rather than fewer jobs within the center.
The opportunity to provide low-cost performances “doesn’t pay for itself,” Custer said. The performances are funded primarily by donors, and the city is the largest contributor, she said.
The Overture Center received a grant last year to fund the more economical performances and is seeking to renew the grant for 2014.
Verveer said he plans to offer a budget amendment to provide additional funding for the DSI when the Board of Estimates meets in two weeks. The operating budget will be decided in November, after Common Council approves it.
