Dane County Board of Supervisors

2026 County Budget

Budget Process

Dane County has an annual, calendar year budget. In the fall, the County adopts the budget for the next calendar year. The budget is divided between the operating budget and the capital budget. The operating budget funds day-to-day expenses like staff, contractual costs, and ongoing activities in departments. The capital budget funds long-term projects like building and maintaining county roads, parks, and other facilities.

The video below provides an overview of the process, describes the difference between the operating and capital budgets, and outlines the general budget timeline.

Ways to Participate

1. Attend a committee meeting. Meeting times and agendas are posted here. You can also sign up to receive agendas automatically as they are posted. Instructions for signing up are available in this video here.

2. Attend one of the County Board Budget Hearings. Budget hearings are held in Room 201 of the City-County Building (210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison, WI) and available virtually. Agendas with information to connect virtually will be posted here.

County Board Budget Hearing Dates:

September 9 at 5:30pm - Public Hearing on Department Budget Requests
September 10 at 5:30pm - Public Hearing on Department Budget Requests
September 11 at 5:30pm - Public Hearing on Department Budget Requests
October 20 at 7:00pm – Public Hearing on 2026 Dane County budget
November 3 at 6:00pm - Public Hearing on Personnel and Finance Committee budget recommendations

3. Contact your County Board Supervisor. Not sure who represents you? Use this tool to find your supervisor and get in touch directly.

4. Email all County Board Supervisors. You can send a message to all Supervisors by emailing: County_Board_Recipients@danecounty.gov

Dane County Budget Process Overview Handout

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Standing Committee Review Schedules of the 2026 County Budget

The 2026 Budget Review Calendar will be added in late summer 2025. For the most up to date information related to meetings, please visit the Legislative Information Center: https://dane.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

During the budget process, each standing committee will include a section on their agendas titled “Budget Discussion and Amendments.” Any proposed amendments can be found within each committee’s individual action item files. The list below includes the numbers associated with each committee:

Committee	Operating Budget Action Item	Capital Budget Action Item
Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Zoning and Land Regulation
Public Works and Transportation
Executive
Public Protection & Judiciary
Health and Human Needs
Personnel & Finance