Letter to the Editor: Property Tax Bill
Dear neighbors,
When you open your property tax bill this month, you will see – in painful detail – what happens when state lawmakers repeatedly fail to properly fund our schools and local governments while sitting on a $4.6 billion surplus of your money.
The City of Fitchburg sends you your property tax bill every December, but only about one-third of the money goes toward city services like police, fire, EMS, public works, and parks. That’s the part your mayor and alders can influence. About half goes to your local school district, 16% goes to Dane County, and 4% goes to Madison College. Each of those bodies sets its own budget, and recent referenda from school districts have had a significant influence on tax bills over the years.
In 2024, Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) voters overwhelmingly approved two referenda totaling $607 million. Someone who lives in that school district and owns the average Fitchburg home (which went from $457,800 in 2024 to $504,700 in 2025) is projected to pay almost $1,000 more in taxes in 2026, $903 of that to MMSD (a 20.2% increase), with more referenda-related increases in the coming years. The bill includes increases of $83 from the City of Fitchburg (3.1%), $49 from Dane County (3.9%), and $7 from Madison College (2.2%), as well as minor changes to several tax credits. Your increase will depend on the value of your property and the change in your assessed value between 2024 and 2025.
The improvements covered by the referenda – upgrades to crumbling buildings, investments in early education, and support for teachers and staff – are worthwhile. Still, their costs are significant.
Meanwhile, that same average-valued Fitchburg home located in the Verona Area School District will see a more than $450 increase, including a $330 (6.2%) increase from the school district; for the average-valued Fitchburg home located in the Oregon School District, the increase will be more than $250, including a $142 (3.1%) increase from the school district.
On the same ballot as the two MMSD referenda, Fitchburg voters narrowly rejected our city’s referendum. As a result, we spent 2025 making a series of tough choices to prioritize the city’s most urgent needs. We restructured numerous departments to eliminate vacant positions and better use our limited resources. This was a painful but necessary step that also meant the first staff layoffs in our city’s history. We are exploring creating a joint fire district with neighboring communities, and we are evaluating new technologies to increase efficiency. But reorganizing departments can only go so far; the rising costs affecting your household budget affect the city as well.
The money you already pay in state taxes could be helping to cover these costs. Instead, it’s sitting around as a budget surplus at the Capitol. Something to consider when reading your tax bill – and when you head to the polls in November 2026.
-Mayor Julia Arata-Fratta and Alders Logan Reigstad, Gabriella Gerhardt, Donald D. Dantzler, Jr., Bill Jetzer, and Micah LaDousa
Questions for Madison School District?
To submit an online contact form go to:
Select Planning, Budget, Purchasing & Accounting
Phone Contact:
Bob Soldner
Assistant Superintendent of Financial Services
(608) 442-2145
