Wausau City Hall. MWC file photo.
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I have this free advice for Wausau’s new mayor Doug Diny.
Mayor Diny, the number one priority for your administration must be this: to insist that Wausau live within its means.
Former Mayor Katie Rosenberg saw taxpayers as a bottomless pocket. Of course they could pay more, for a myriad of things, some big and some small. From skyrocketing water bills, to solar panels, to goats. The previous mayor had a knack for finding more woke, more expensive ways, and let the taxpayers eat the cost.
Frankly, I’m surprised the taxpayers woke up to it.
Remember, Wausau received an unprecedented $1.1-million increase in state aid… and property taxes still went up. We were told that our current city budget is a ‘status quo’ plan; that the city will keep doing all the things it’s always done. That’s a formula for disaster. Because without all that state aid, the cost of the status quo would have been another $1.1-million shifted onto the taxpayers.
So what should the message be? The status quo in Wausau will make the city unaffordable. The new approach needs to be this: here’s how much money the city has coming in. What can we do with it? The answer to things we cannot afford has to be ‘no’.
This also has to be the new mayor’s posture with the city council and city department heads. The city council has only two new faces, which means lots of big spenders remain. The mayor may need to use his veto to push back on spending increases. Remember, the mayor is the only elected city leader who represents the entire city. Council members represent their individual neighborhoods. He’s the one and only person who has the ability to manage costs and taxes for the city as a whole. And every department head has to contemplate how they can accomplish their missions without new infusions of cash. Another windfall of state aid is unlikely in the next budget cycle.
And none of this covers Wausau’s massive debt increase, from $50-million to $269-million. It all needs to be paid back.
The most important trait in the new mayor is the ability to say “sorry, we can’t afford that.” It will be a tough job.
Good luck, Mayor Diny.
Chris Conley
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