Is Madison Growing Too Fast?
Source: WMTV-15

MADISON, WI - August 12, 2004 - The city of Madison finds itself with the largest population growth in the state since the 2000 census.

According to statistics released by the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Madison grew by nearly 10,000 people over the last four years. That brings the city's population to nearly 218,000. During that same period, the city of Milwaukee actually lost 3,000 people.

Madison's Mayor says the news is mixed. Dave Cieslewicz says the city is growing so fast because of it's quality of life, but too many people may ruin that by placing too much strain on municipal services.

"Growth means we have to add services, we need to open a new fire station, we add 10 miles of new street a year; that needs to be maintained. It means more households that need to be served by all kinds of services, garbage collection and street plowing." Cielewicz tells NBC 15 News.

Mayor Cieslewicz says even with the increased population, Madison will not receive any additional state aid this year. He says that will strain the 2005 budget.