City of Sun Prairie April 2026 Referendum

The Need for Additional Funding

By design, Wisconsin municipalities have a limited ability to increase funding to address increased expenses and make investments. “Levy limits” established by the State set the amount Sun Prairie can raise through property taxes. 

The City of Sun Prairie works hard to ensure fiscal responsibility, regularly identifying and implementing cost-saving and efficiency measures to maintain a balanced budget.

In response to community input gathered in September 2025, the City has reduced long-term costs by more than $1 million, including by eliminating several vacant executive-level positions and by adjusting employee benefits. Despite implementing these cost-saving measures, there is still a need for additional funding to maintain high-quality existing services and make priority investments in the community.

This funding need is amplified by rising demand for essential City Police and Fire/EMS services. Between 2015 and 2024, calls for emergency medical services increased by 107.9%. More recently, the Police Department saw a 13.5% increase in calls from 2020 to 2024 – averaging more than 70 calls for service per day. Current staffing levels are unable to keep up with this increased demand, leading to longer response times, lessened staff availability and a decrease in the overall level of public safety services Sun Prairie residents receive.

If approved via referendum, additional funding would be used to hire additional Fire/EMS and Police personnel, improving service delivery and helping to ensure that response times do not continue to rise.

If a Majority Vote "Yes" 

If approved, a $3.95 million increase to the property tax levy would allow the City to improve public safety services while maintaining the quality existing services and programs the community enjoys.

If a Majority Vote "No" 

If the referendum is rejected, Sun Prairie will not be able to increase the property tax levy. Without additional funding, the City will not be able to maintain existing service levels or make the investments necessary to improve priority services. Cuts to programs, services and staffing will be required. 

Specific cuts would be determined by the City Council as part of the annual budget process, starting in fall 2026. 

What Does This Mean for You?

This referendum requests a single, permanent increase to the operating tax levy. If approved, the levy would go up once and establish a new starting point for the City’s annual budget. At the same time, the city anticipates being able to offset the debt levy. As a result, the anticipated impact for residents is expected to be lower than the maximum allowed.

For the average single-family home in Sun Prairie, we anticipate the impact of an approved referendum and decreased debt service would increase property taxes by approximately $82 in 2027 (about $7 per month) with a maximum impact of $264 (about $22 per month).

To give some more context: When it comes to the City's budget, there are two levies to consider. The Total Property Tax Levy = Operating Levy + Debt Levy. 

First, the operating levy is the amount needed to fund the ongoing, day-to-day governmental operations such as public safety, public works, parks, and library services. The city’s operating levy is limited by state-imposed levy limit laws which sets the amount of property tax Sun Prairie can collect from its residents. The increase in our operating levy is tied to our net new construction – which is the value of new construction and land improvements during the past year. 

Second, the debt levy is equal to the amount needed to pay the city’s annual debt service payments (it is equal to the principal and interest due on our municipal borrowing). Think of this as the city’s mortgage payment on our infrastructure investments and improvements. The debt levy can only be used for this payment. Under state law, the debt service levy in not subject to levy limits and can raise as needed to pay back our obligations.