WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — Wausau’s city budget has gone from looking bad, to much better, and back to looking bad. That’s because of the new city-wide property revaluation that was recently completed and a loss of anticipated revenue from other sources.
Council President Robert Mielke says the property values fell, meaning the tax rate could realistically be $9.49 per $1,000 dollars in value. He says they also learned they will be getting far less in transportation aids. “There was a surprise. Unfortunately, we did get the numbers, and we did not get as much as we were hopefully anticipating. We were short about $173-thousand plus. (It’s) another monkey wrench thrown into everything.”
There is also a shortfall at the police department, where nearly $300,000 dollars in grant funding expires this year.
Mielke says he’s tried to avoid the stressful budget situation they had last year, where they eliminated items one-at-a-time from the final budget.
He says they have a lot of work to do at the committee level and during their next budget session November 4th. “You know, we’re just going to have to work through it and make sure that things get done and adhere to them, so we provide services for the folks of Wausau and try to keep property taxes in line.”
Council members have asked department heads to look for more cuts. Pay cuts for the Mayor, council members, and department heads are a strong possibility next year.