WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg is reaching the end of her first year in office, a year that has been less than conventional on several fronts.
With Wausau’s 2021 budget and tax schedule in place for the coming year, Rosenberg says it feels like a “weight” has been lifted off her chest, especially considering that many residents are not in the same financial spot they were one year ago thanks to the pandemic. “My direction to the department heads was ‘don’t ask for anything more than what you asked for last year.'”
The city has put off a few projects but is moving ahead with some street work in 2021 along with a new website and some strategic planning. “Some of the things that aren’t super sexy, we’re doing it. But, that’s what we do as a city,” she added.
The budget was not passed unanimously as some on the City Council expressed concerns about projects that were being put off in older neighborhoods, but Mayor Rosenberg hopes that in future years those residents will be able to hold meetings and vote to send project recommendations to budget writers.
“I’m looking at what that could look like. It seems like something I would like, [because] you hear a lot of people say ‘well, why don’t you fix the road in front of my house?'”
Rosenberg says the idea came to her in the most unconventional of ways- while she was on a business trip in New York during her days working for Eastbay/Foot Locker. “They had these very robust neighborhood meetings and these are the kind of things they were voting on.
“I know it’s not super exciting to go to meetings when you are traveling, but that’s one of the things I like to do,” she added with a chuckle. “I think it’s a really neat opportunity [for Wausau].”
She adds that she’s seen these models work in other cities and hopes they can be copied here as well.
Other topics Rosenberg discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- Thoughts on the city budget for 2021
5:05- Things that could change in the 2022 budget process
6:50- Winter street maintenance preparations
9:50- Thoughts on a pandemic-laced first year in office and when Wausau Events could return to normal
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