Wausau City Hall. MWC file photo.
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Tonight Wausau’s common council meets as the committee of the whole. Tonight they begin the near-impossible process of getting city residents, who already pay the highest property taxes in the area, to voluntarily raise their taxes by another $1.5-million in 2026.
From this microphone, the call has already gone out. Absolutely, positively not.
Two years ago then-mayor Katie Rosenberg and the big spenders on the city council did something foolish. They used one-time grant money for an ongoing expense: hiring more firefighter-paramedics and police officers. The grant money runs out next year. So you and I are asked to pick up the bill.
Cuts to public safety are never popular. Finance director MaryAnn Groat has already hinted that the positions won’t be cut at all. That she’ll propose taking money away from other parts of the city budget… so we’ll pave fewer roads or maintain fewer buildings.
Now along comes Mayor Doug Diny with a plan of his own. To put it simply, the Mayor says there are vacant position in the city parks department. He says let’s eliminate four of those positions, and keep four of the firefighter paramedics. The mayor says his proposal is tax neutral. And there would be no high stakes referendum next fall, which the voters are likely to reject.
It’s a completely reasonable proposal. It’s a step backwards for the fire department, but they get to keep some of their new personnel. And, for taxpayers, it takes the upward pressure off of our ever-increasing bills.
Within a few hours of the mayor releasing his plan came the expected opposition from the city council. Council President Lisa Rasmussen says the mayor’s numbers haven’t been reviewed by city staff, and don’t add up. Okay. Then where is her plan that doesn’t raise taxes? There is none.
This is what things have come to at city hall. There’s one lonely voice, the mayor’s, who says taxes cannot go up any further. And there is no one willing to work with him.
Chris Conley
Comments