Welcome to Wausau sign. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg said “it will be a tight city budget.”
Well, how could it not be? City spending is rising faster than revenue.
The city is starting the process of putting together a spending plan now. The budget will be finalized in late November.
Wausau, like all cities, has two ways to raise money: Grow the tax base, or raise property taxes. Growing the tax base is hard. You have to attract new companies to the community. The employees they attract will boost the housing market. If the city’s an appealing place to do business and to live, the grand list will grow. We’ve already learned that Wausau is not as hot a city as we’d like to think. Every large-scale development in town only happens with tax credits. No developer is willing to finance their own projects. On the other hand, raising taxes is easy. Add up the budget shortfall, and get the city council to vote for a tax hike to cover the difference.
Mayor Rosenberg points out two examples where costs are going up. One is road maintenance. It used to cost the city $1-million to pave a mile of road. Now it’s $1.3-million. And the city’s human resource expenses will rise. The mayor says union and non-union city employees will be getting raises.
Which leads to some questions.
Ms. Rosenberg, in what areas has the city cut back spending because of these tight fiscal times? Since road projects cost 30-percent more, which projects can be delayed? Since many employees in the private sector aren’t getting raises, will city employees have their raises reduced or deferred? Does the city have a plan to do more with less? Does the spending train keep rolling, or does someone apply the brakes?
To state the obvious, homeowners in Wausau have endured 8% inflation compared to a year ago. And as the city prepares its budget, it’s fair to ask if the city make things better or make things worse?
Chris Conley
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