WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — Wausau city leaders and former mayors will be leading a panel discussion later this month on the upcoming Wausau governance referendum.
The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service is bringing in past and present city leaders, as well as an expert in the area of public administration on March 17th for a meeting at UW-Marathon County. The topic is “Mayor vs. Administrator: Who Should Run City Hall?”
Members of the panel include former mayors Linda Lawrence and John Robinson, Wausau city council member Keene Winter, and county board supervisor Ken Day, along with UW-Oshkosh professor of public administration Steven Hintz
The program will be held from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Civic Engagement.
Wausau residents will be voting on a non-binding referendum in April on what sort of city leadership should be in place: a strong mayoral system or one that shares duties with a city manager or administrator.
The basic difference is under a city manager, the mayor could be part or full time and would represent the city, but would not have a vote during meetings, not even in a tiebreaker. If an administrator is hired, the mayor would still make policies, preside over meetings, have veto power, and appoint boards. The administrator would appoint department heads, direct operations and the administration, and prepare the budget.
