Wausau Fire Department Engine 1. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Wausau Mayor Doug Diny has put forward a budget proposal aimed at eliminating the need for a public safety referendum next April.
Diny says his plan would cut eight vacant firefighter/paramedic positions and fund four positions. He notes that this would put the department at 71 such positions, maintaining minimum daily staffing.
The plan also includes eliminating one police position and three administrative positions within the parks department by ending the city/county parks agreement on January 1st. According to Diny, that would save $1.43 million from the 2026 budget, eliminating the need for a potential referendum in April.
You can see Diny’s proposal in the PDF at the top of this story.
The Mayor also issued a challenge to the City Council: consider and implement the plan, or risk a veto of the budget. “I wasn’t elected to raise taxes – and neither was this Council. This plan covers the entire $1.4 million cliff from expiring grants – the ‘ticking time bomb’ I warned about years ago. Four firefighters stay. Services intact. Voters spared. If Council rejects it? I’ll veto – and let them explain to neighborhoods why they punted on first down,” said Diny.
Council President Lisa Rasmussen questioned the Mayor’s numbers, saying she confirmed city staff was not involved in the process. “Some reported they cannot figure out where the mayor’s figures came from, but they were not provided to him by his management team. That should concern taxpayers. He and his “advisors” cannot just make stuff up, release it publicly and hope it pans out. It’s irresponsible and it undermines the work of his own management staff. He has done this before only to walk it back after.”
She added that she still thinks the referendum is needed. “When the city added the 12 grant funded firefighters, they did it because the department had not increased staffing since 1970, yet call volume had nearly quadrupled. Overtime and response times were an issue, along with reliance on mutual aid from other neighboring communities to handle some calls. The WFD responded to 771 fire calls and 6190 ambulance calls in 2024. Proper staffing made that possible. When seconds matter, our residents do not have time to wait because we don’t have enough staff available to get the incident under control. We will discuss that at our meeting on Monday.”
RELATED: Wausau City Council Hears Early Pitch for Possible Public Safety Referendum
This all comes after the city won a three-year grant for additional positions in the fire department. That money runs out next year, leaving the salaries to be absorbed into the tax levy and creating the $1.4 million budget shortfall.
Alders held one committee discussion on the proposal in early October and will hold a second discussion on Monday at 5:15 PM at City Hall.
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