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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Wausau Mayor Doug Diny is onto something. When the grass needs to be mowed at Riverside Park, the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department does it. When the lawn needs to be mowed around City Hall, the Department of Public Works does the job.
Hizzoner notes, correctly, that it doesn’t matter who mows the grass as long as it gets done. And the mayor also reasons that the Department of Public Works maintains many city properties around town. Could the parks department be folded into the DPW?
The answer is ‘yes,’ but… the City of Wausau and Marathon County have combined their parks departments for more than 50 years. Wausau would have to get out of that agreement first. The Mayor is correct to open preliminary talks with the county on the subject.
Why?
Because the city needs to find cost savings anywhere it can. The mandated property revaluation earlier this year means without cost savings (or substantial economic growth), many Wausau property owners are facing a big tax increase. Combining Wausau’s parks and public works departments eliminated duplicate equipment. The DPW already owns lawnmowers, riding mowers and snow removal equipment. The mayor says combining the department would eliminate three-and-a-half full-time positions, or probably about $75,000 each when benefits are factored in. That’s roughly a quarter-million dollars in savings for the 2025 budget.
In other words, it’s exactly the kind of savings that the city needs.
Mayor Diny is right to find savings wherever he can. A zero-based, barebones budget is exactly what’s needed. The free-flowing COVID cash from Washington has run out. The previous mayor was a big spender, and now the city’s debt is at a historic high. The people of Wausau don’t care who cuts the grass; they care about avoiding a crushing property tax increase.
Chris Conley
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