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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I’m happy to share that the Wausau City Council is moving away from two of the worst ideas… ever.
I told you last week in one of these commentaries that Wausau is getting a large settlement from 3M over PFAS contamination in the city’s water supply. Wausau’s share after legal fees, would be paid out over the next 8 years.
Bad idea number one is to opt for an immediate, lump sum payment. The city would sell its legal settlement to a third party, in this case an investment bank in Puerto Rico. Getting the money all at once would cost the city about a half-million dollars. Why would the city forfeit money that it’s legally entitled to? Well, because this is the kind of deal that financially strapped cities might make. Hypothetically, the money could be used to cover up a bad budgeting decision from 2023, when the city use a one-time COVID grant to hire 11 firefighter-paramedics. That could eliminate the need for an April referendum that the public is likely to reject.
Bad idea number two is using that money for anything other than lowering Wausau’s sky-high water rates. Wausau made the expensive decision to filter forever chemical levels down to zero, instead of the more lenient federal standards. Wausau was already committed to a new water treatment plant, and then came the added filtration costs. That’s why my residential water rates have doubled since I’ve moved here. It’s also why any new company that uses water in its manufacturing process won’t even consider moving here.
A few city council members have already said that PFAS settlement money would be used to bring water rates down. Council president Lisa Rasmussen spoke against taking the money up-front. Alders Tom Neal and Terry Killean say they’ve heard from local residents demanded that the money be used for water rate relief.
The proposal to sell off the settlement money was tabled by the city council. What it gets used for is still an unsettled question. Now is the time for your voice to be heard.
Chris Conley
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