The District 3 Dispatch | Property Tax Information Available
In place of the usual introduction this month, I want to take a moment to share some information and thoughts about the property tax bills that will be hitting mailboxes very soon. Several alders and I submitted this Letter to the Editor to the Fitchburg Star.
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
One quick addition: The figures cited above are based on estimates available in late November. For specific details about how your property taxes are allocated, refer to your bill.
What’s “Growing” On
Here’s what’s being built in Fitchburg.
A neighborhood meeting has been scheduled for this Thursday (December 11) about a proposed development on Notre Dame Drive. The proposal calls for adding 24 single-family lots along an extended Notre Dame Drive and Quarry Hill Drive.
Meeting Details:
🗓️ Thursday, December 11, 5 p.m.
📍Fitchburg Room, Fitchburg Community Center | 5510 Lacy Rd., Fitchburg, WI 53711
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Our city’s newest park and community gathering space is now open! On November 24, we cut the ribbon on what is currently called the Hub (new name TBD). This long-awaited park at 2220 Traceway Drive fills a significant gap in park space in the North Fish Hatchery Road corridor.
The community gathers to officially open Fitchburg’s newest park and community space at 2220 Traceway Dr.
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Construction will start soon on the latest addition to the Uptown neighborhood. The Lido Apartments, a 114-unit building featuring apartments and townhomes (10% at workforce rate), will be built at the northeast corner of the roundabout at East Cheryl Parkway and Lacy Road (next to the rehab hospital that also recently broke ground).
A rendering of the Lido Apartments, looking northeast from the roundabout at East Cheryl Parkway/Lacy Road. Courtesy: Avante Properties.
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Welcome to Fitchburg and District 3, artepupp! artepupp offers dog grooming both at its new location at 2964 Ochalla Drive and elsewhere via its mobile grooming van.
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GiGi’s Playhouse has officially broken ground on its forever home in Fitchburg! The new space at 2693 Botanical Drive will serve individuals with Down syndrome and their families. It is expected to open later in 2026.
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Working For You
Here’s how city staff and elected officials are working on your behalf to make Fitchburg a better place.
It was hard to miss, but the first major snowfall of the season is in the books. With winter only just starting, a reminder that you can report concerns about snow removal (and many other things) on the city's website. If you see an area in need of attention, head over to fitchburgwi.gov and click on the "Concerns?" button (left side of the screen on desktop, about halfway down the screen on mobile).
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Our last council meetings of 2025 have been quite busy. Here are some of the highlights:
December 9:
Approved an ordinance that charges new construction a fee to cover some of the costs of our new Police Services Facility. This is one way we can reduce borrowing for large projects that are needed because of how fast our city is growing – and reduce the impact on our current residents. Speaking of the Police Services Facility, check out the latest project update from FACTv.
Adopted a new medium-high density residential land use category to help create more “missing middle” housing (i.e. duplexes, small-lot single family homes, and smaller scale multifamily housing)
Approved the preliminary plat for the No Oaks Ranch subdivision along Central Park Place. This new neighborhood will be west of U.S. Highway 14 and north of Lacy Road. The current plan includes 123 single-family lots (79 of which will be alley-loaded), 23 mixed-use lots, and a healthy amount of open space/parkland. The plat was previously revised to avoid cutting down a significant number of quality trees. As part of the approval, the developer will need to update the traffic impact analysis for the area
Approved a resolution voicing our support for exploring a joint fire/EMS district with Verona and Oregon
November 25:
Approved the 2026-2030 Transit Plan
Appointed a new District 4 councilmember, Jake Lepper, to fill the rest of a vacant term due to a resignation
Presented the 2025 Mayoral Awards to individuals and businesses making a major impact in our city (including several in and/or serving District 3)
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Dane County’s highway department has made some additional improvements to the County Highway MM/Lacy Road intersection in response to feedback from folks in the Terravessa neighborhood. Over the summer, the county adjusted the “Keep Right” sign on the north median and also installed a flexible tube post at that median. After neighbors raised some concerns about the intersection in September, the county also installed a flexible tube post at the south median and painted dashed lines for the eastbound and westbound left turns.
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Several Metro Transit routes saw service changes effective December 7. Routes serving District 3 that had changes include:
Routes B, G, H: The South Transfer Point in Madison has closed. Stops moved to the streets next to the transfer point.
Route 65: The stops at East Cheryl Parkway/Crinkle Root Drive and East Cheryl Parkway/No Oaks Ridge consolidated to a new stop at East Cheryl Parkway/South Syene Road.
Visit mymetrobus.com/decemberupdates for more information.
Another bus stop change: Due to the construction of the Lido Apartments (see above), the bus stop at the northeast corner of East Cheryl Parkway and Lacy Road will move to the southwest corner of the intersection effective December 22. This will last until May 2027.
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Quarry Hill Pond is being dredged and a clay liner is being installed. Work is underway now and will last into January.
Get Involved
Upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and ways you can help make our city a better place
It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year! Holiday festivities kick off on December 12 with Get Festive with Agora and continue through the weekend with the Holiday Lights Tour (be sure to bundle up!).
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Fitchburg Chamber Events Calendar
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
Your city staff, elected officials, and our private-sector partners were busy this year, continuing to make Fitchburg an exceptional place to live, work, and do business. Check out Mayor Arata-Fratta’s year-in-review recap (and a look at what to expect in 2026) from our December 9 council meeting (starts about 20 minutes into the video).
One Last Thing…
However — and with whomever — you celebrate, I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing, and safe holiday season!
