MADISON, WI – The City of Madison, Wis. has a number of projects for its Fleet Services division scheduled for 2012, but due to the budget situation the City faces, the Mayor’s proposed budget provides less than half of the amount originally requested for Fleet Services.

In addition, in a letter from Mayor Paul Soglin’s office, the Mayor states that as part of the City’s efforts to reduce borrowing, he is interrupting the normal schedule of vehicle replacement for the next two years.

The original budget request was $10,436,900. The mayor’s executive budget provides $4,868,450 (a reduction of $5,568,450). Projects in Madison’s Fleet Services requested budget included replacement of equipment, replacement of fire equipment, ongoing installation of a GPS system in the Public Works fleet, and either relocating or upgrading one of its facilities.

The GPS system installation will receive no funding for 2012, and the facility upgrade will also not receive any funding. The original amount requested for equipment replacement was $4,365,000 and the amount the 2012 budget will provide is $1,227,015. For fire equipment, the requested amount was $1,315,900, and the amount provided will be $1,041,435.

For the facility upgrade vs. relocation project, though, $2,600,000 is allocated for potential relocation in the executive budget (this is a reduction from the original $4 million requested). The executive budget for Fleet Services states that purchasing an existing facility would reduce travel time by fleet and fire department staff for vehicle maintenance and repairs and would cost less than constructing an entirely new facility. In addition, another property could be declared surplus and sold to offset the cost of purchasing and renovating the facility under consideration for purchase.

You can read more about the City's budget, and its Fleet Services budget, on its website here.

By Greg Basich