A full interview with Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway will air Sunday on For the Record.

MADISON, Wis. — The encampment at the site where a Madison police officer shot and killed a man could cost the city “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway told News 3 Now on Friday.

The encampment at the intersection of Williamson and Baldwin streets was erected late last week in response to the killing of Corey Ruiz. Police said Ruiz was seen “checking vehicles” before his encounter with police and used a knife to injure one of the officers detaining him before the shooting.

The City of Madison has provided some resources to keep the protest area safe, including salt trucks parked in front of makeshift barricades. Speaking to News 3 Now, Rhodes-Conway said the trucks were put in place to prevent vehicles from crashing through the barricades and injuring people.

“Normally when we would have a protest, or something like this, we would have [police] squad cars down to make sure people were staying safe,” Rhodes-Conway said. “Given the sensitivity of this moment, we’ve chosen to use other city staff and vehicles to do that.”

EXCLUSIVE: “I would expect just roughly that we are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars…”

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway addresses the financial impact of the encampment in her first TV interview since an MPD officer shot and killed a man last week.@WISCTV_News3 pic.twitter.com/WaHbeK9uX4

— Elly Laliberte (@ellylalibertetv) July 31, 2026

But utilizing city resources that way can only go on for so long. And for some in the area, the encampment is taking a toll on their patience.

Rhodes-Conway issued a statement Thursday calling the encampment neither sustainable nor safe. She said residents in the Marquette neighborhood had reached out to her office with concerns about being unable to sleep, conduct business or safely be in the area.

The city is also racking up a massive bill, mostly on overtime and staffing costs, that could have impacts further down the line.

“I would expect just roughly that we are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Rhodes-Conway said. She could not provide an exact number on Friday, but said the total would depend on how long the encampment remains up.

She said that the city could be forced to amend its budget due to the spending, but could not yet say what other areas would miss out on funding because of the changes.

Madison’s budget is already in a tight spot. The city is already projecting an $11 million gap in its 2027 operating budget, and last month Rhodes-Conway directed all city agencies to cut their budgets by 2%.

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