CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – A community the size of Wausau has no way of replacing 200 jobs. That’s how many people will be out of work when Eastbay closes next spring.
And we should ask why.
If it’s simply because parent company Footlocker wants fewer, larger, centralized distribution centers – well, that’s that. How about asking the more difficult question – why wasn’t Wausau considered the preferred site for distribution? Why were we looked at as the inferior choice to be closed?
And that brings us to other questions about the broader local economy.
Remember, there are only two ways for the city to increase its revenue: grow the tax base, or raise taxes. If you look around town, we’ve done a poor job at growing the tax base. The amount of commercial real estate that’s vacant around town is large and growing. And we seem to have more announcements of businesses that are closing and leaving than businesses that are coming and hiring.
So what is Wausau’s unique selling point? Why would a business want to come here instead of somewhere else? I’ve become a big champion of Wausau over the years. Moving here has been a wonderful decision for me and my family. We have low housing costs, good schools, a high quality of life, and we’re close to lots of other things. But if we don’t sell those points, nothing happens.
The alternative is raising property taxes. Wausau’s taxes are already higher than surrounding communities. As they go higher, more new arrivals will quickie decide they can buy more house in Weston, and still have all the benefits of living a few minutes away from Wausau.
So, city leaders, what’s the plan? Why does it feel like we aren’t growing, and are sliding backward?
Chris Conley
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