City of Wausau. MWC file graphic
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wausau Finance Director MaryAnne Groat says she’s happy with how the proposed 2024 City Budget turned out, even though it did involve a small increase in the mill rate for property owners.
“It will allow us to keep up with the services that the community expects,” said Groat. “Hopefully it will attend to some of the deferred maintenance that we have been experiencing, so I think it is a good budget.”
City leaders had managed to decrease the mill rate increase from over 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to just over a quarter. That means some items were left off including a request from the Police Department for training. Additional employees in the Streets Department, Community Development Office, and an administrative position in the Police Department were either cut or scaled down from full-time to part-time.
Groat adds that inflationary impacts and pressure from wages also stretched the budget thin. But those did ease a bit with an extra $1.1 million in shared revenue from the state. “It did help us control the cost increases for the taxpayers.
“We all would have liked to see that shared revenue come in a long time ago,” she added.
No residents provided public comment during Tuesday’s hearing on the budget. Mayor Katie Rosenberg noted that residents who want to have their say on the spending plan can contact their Alders before the November 21st meeting. That’s when the Council will vote to approve the budget.
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