Dane County Board of Supervisors

09/14/2026

On Thursday, Sept. 10, the Dane County Board approved 2026 RES-130, urging Midcontinent Grid Solutions (MGS) and the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin to provide additional review and expanded opportunities for public input on the proposed Bell Center–Columbia–Sugar Creek–IL/WI State Line 765 kV Transmission Project, known as BECI.

The resolution raises concerns that the public feedback timeline failed to give landowners, municipalities, and residents sufficient time to evaluate potential routes and property-specific impacts.

The resolution requests that the MGS and the PSC delay consideration of the BECI proposal until additional research, analysis, and public review have been completed.

Read more here: https://www.danecounty.gov/PressDetail/11959

09/14/2026

🔔 THIS WEEK: The final two budget request hearings will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. ➡ Please note: all public testimony will be taken at the end of the meeting following the end of ALL department budget presentations.

📣 Help shape YOUR county budget.

Over the next two months, the Dane County Board will review and adopt the county's 2027 budget, and there are several points along the way where YOU can weigh in.

The county budget funds many of the program and services that residents rely on every day: human services and public health, parks and land conservation, 911 communications and the Sheriff's Office, and the assets that drive our local economy, including the Dane County Regional Airport, the Alliant Energy Center, and the Henry Vilas Zoo.

🗓️ Sept. 9, 15 & 16: Department budget request hearings, 5:30 p.m.
🗓️ By Oct. 1: County Executive releases their proposed budget
🗓️ Oct. 6–29: Standing committee budget meetings (times vary)
🗓️ Oct. 19: Public hearing on the Executive's proposed budget, 7 p.m.
🗓️ Nov. 2: Public hearing on Personnel & Finance committee's final budget recommendations, 6 p.m.
🗓️ Nov. 4–5: Budget deliberations (no public testimony is taken), 6 p.m.

📍 Unless otherwise noted in the agenda, all meetings and hearings will take place at the City-County Building and will be streamed online via Zoom.

🗣️ Want to testify? Register before the meeting or hearing begins by following the instructions in the posted agenda: https://dane.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

ℹ️ View the full review schedule: board.danecounty.gov/budget

To request interpretation, translation, or a disability-related accommodation for any meeting or hearing, please contact the Dane County Board Office at [email protected] or (608) 266-5758.

09/11/2026

A full list of Dane County meetings for the week of Sept. 14 – 16, 2026, is available on the Legislative Information Center. For meeting details, agendas, and virtual access, visit: dane.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

09/11/2026

On Thursday, Sept. 10, the Dane County Board of Supervisors, alongside Dane County Land & Water Resources Department Department Director Laura Hicklin, was presented with the National Sierra Club Environmental Achievement Award in recognition of its work to approve the purchase of 165 acres of environmentally and culturally significant land in the Town of Dunn and return it to the Ho-Chunk Nation.

This recognition follows the board’s May 14, 2026, vote to approve a $6.41 million purchase of wetland, oak woodlands, and undeveloped property in the Lower Mud Lake Natural Resources Area made possible through the Dane County Conservation Fund Grant Program. This land holds deep cultural significance to the Ho-Chunk Nation and is also environmentally significant as it supports wildlife and protects water quality across the Yahara Watershed.

In accepting the award, the board also recognized the instrumental role of the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department, whose staff worked to make the purchase possible and bring this effort to fruition. The board shares this award with the department in acknowledgment of their dedication and expertise, without which this achievement would not have been possible.

Read more here: https://www.danecounty.gov/PressDetail/11957

09/09/2026

🔔 TONIGHT: The first of three department budget request hearings is tonight at 5:30 p.m. ➡ Please note: all public testimony will be taken at the end of the meeting following the end of ALL department budget presentations.

📣 Help shape YOUR county budget.

Over the next two months, the Dane County Board will review and adopt the county's 2027 budget, and there are several points along the way where YOU can weigh in.

The county budget funds many of the program and services that residents rely on every day: human services and public health, parks and land conservation, 911 communications and the Sheriff's Office, and the assets that drive our local economy, including the Dane County Regional Airport, the Alliant Energy Center, and the Henry Vilas Zoo.

🗓️ Sept. 9, 15 & 16: Department budget request hearings, 5:30 p.m.
🗓️ By Oct. 1: County Executive releases their proposed budget
🗓️ Oct. 6–29: Standing committee budget meetings (times vary)
🗓️ Oct. 19: Public hearing on the Executive's proposed budget, 7 p.m.
🗓️ Nov. 2: Public hearing on Personnel & Finance committee's final budget recommendations, 6 p.m.
🗓️ Nov. 4–5: Budget deliberations (no public testimony is taken), 6 p.m.

📍 Unless otherwise noted in the agenda, all meetings and hearings will take place at the City-County Building and will be streamed online via Zoom.

🗣️ Want to testify? Register before the meeting or hearing begins by following the instructions in the posted agenda: https://dane.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

ℹ️ View the full review schedule: board.danecounty.gov/budget

To request interpretation, translation, or a disability-related accommodation for any meeting or hearing, please contact the Dane County Board Office at [email protected] or (608) 266-5758.

09/08/2026

The Dane County Board of Supervisors will meet on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026 at 7 p.m.

📍 How to attend (hybrid meeting):
• In person: City-County Building, Room 201
• Virtually: Join live via Zoom or phone
• Madison City Channel: Charter Digital 994, AT&T U-Verse 99, Roku, and Apple TV (streaming only)

🗣️ Ways to participate:
Members of the public are welcome to:
➡ Attend and listen
➡ Register to speak on an agenda item
➡ Indicate position on an agenda item without speaking

Participation is available in person, via Zoom, or by phone.

🔗 Register to attend, to speak, or to indicate a position:
https://board.danecounty.gov/attend-meeting

📄 View the meeting agenda: https://dane.legistar.com/Calendar

County board meetings are open to the public, and community participation is encouraged.

09/03/2026

📣 Help shape YOUR county budget.

Over the next two months, the Dane County Board will review and adopt the county's 2027 budget, and there are several points along the way where YOU can weigh in.

The county budget funds many of the program and services that residents rely on every day: human services and public health, parks and land conservation, 911 communications and the Sheriff's Office, and the assets that drive our local economy, including the Dane County Regional Airport, the Alliant Energy Center, and the Henry Vilas Zoo.

🗓️ Sept. 9, 15 & 16: Department budget request hearings, 5:30 p.m.
🗓️ By Oct. 1: County Executive releases their proposed budget
🗓️ Oct. 6–29: Standing committee budget meetings (times vary)
🗓️ Oct. 19: Public hearing on the Executive's proposed budget, 7 p.m.
🗓️ Nov. 2: Public hearing on Personnel & Finance committee's final budget recommendations, 6 p.m.
🗓️ Nov. 4–5: Budget deliberations (no public testimony is taken), 6 p.m.

📍 Unless otherwise noted in the agenda, all meetings and hearings will take place at the City-County Building and will be streamed online via Zoom.

🗣️ Want to testify? Register before the meeting or hearing begins by following the instructions in the posted agenda: https://dane.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

ℹ️ View the full review schedule: board.danecounty.gov/budget

To request interpretation, translation, or a disability-related accommodation for any meeting or hearing, please contact the Dane County Board Office at [email protected] or (608) 266-5758.

09/02/2026

💡 Budget 101: Many of the terms you'll hear this fall, in plain language!

➡ General Purpose Revenue (GPR)
GPR comes mainly from property taxes and sales taxes. GPR is applied to expenditures where other revenue sources do not fully cover costs.

➡ Intergovernmental Revenue
Revenue from other governments (i.e., federal, state, city) in the form of grants, program revenue, or shared revenues.

➡ Tax Levy
The total amount of revenue the county is able to raise from property taxes.

➡ Reserve Fund
The county's savings account. Reserves cover costs during economic downturns or other short-term disruption of cash flow.

➡ Reserve Fund Policy
The county’s self-imposed rule regarding how much it keeps in the undesignated reserve fund. Dane County's policy is that the budget includes an unassigned fund balance of at least 10% of the operating budget expenditures.

➡ Surplus Revenue
Money left at the end of the year above what the county aims to keep in reserve. A surplus occurs when revenues come in higher than budgeted and/or departments spend less than they budgeted.

➡ Executive Budget
The county executive's proposed budget, delivered to the county board no later than Oct. 1 each year. The board spends roughly the next six weeks reviewing it and proposing amendments.

➡ Budget Amendment
A change that one or more county board supervisors propose to the county executive’s proposed budget.

➡ Sub 1
Short for "Substitute 1." When the board makes amendments, it replaces the proposed budget with a substitute version.

➡ Deliberations
The board’s final debate and vote on the budget as amended (Sub 1). No public comment is taken during deliberations.

➡ Budget Veto
The county executive's power to reject what the board approved; The veto can strike the entire budget or just individual pieces of it, and it must be used within a short window after the board's vote.

➡ Veto Override
The board's power to reverse a veto. It takes a two-thirds vote. If the override succeeds, the board's version takes affect.

➡ Adopted Budget
The final budget that governs county spending for the year.

The 2027 budget review cycle begins next week! Learn how to participate and stay engaged 👉 board.danecounty.gov/budget

09/01/2026

08/28/2026

A full list of Dane County meetings for the week of Aug. 31 – Sept. 4, 2026, is available on the Legislative Information Center. For meeting details, agendas, and virtual access, visit: dane.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx