CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Wausau needs some clear thinking on the buildings for its police and fire departments. Some very expensive projects are already out of the starting gate with little or no public comment or awareness.
Wausau city leaders are interested in the old UW-Stevens Point building near Marathon Park. It could become the new police headquarters. One of the other buildings could become an evidence storage facility. The city’s finance committee has recommended setting aside $50,000 to hire a consultant to make recommendations on converting the building for police use.
Converting a building is also expensive. Marshfield is in the middle of converting a donated building to be its new police headquarters. The project will cost millions.
And I have a second concern. Government tends to expand to fill space available. If we suddenly have a bigger police headquarters, does that mean we will soon have more employees working for Wausau PD?
We’ve already seen that 12 additional firefighter paramedics were sold to us as absolutely, positively necessary. Will we soon be hearing a similar pitch from Wausau Police? There’s no police department anywhere that would say ‘no’ to 10 or 12 more sworn officers. The taxpayers’ ability to pay for it be damned.
There’s been little to no discussion about a new, bigger fire department headquarters. And we’ve already spent lavishly on fire personnel and the new Fire Station #2. And yet a new headquarters already seems baked into the city’s spending plans. Price tag: $30-million. Somehow before the first public hearing and first public comments, this project has moved on to the land acquisition stage.
Wausau is a city that is tapped out. We’re maxed out for TID districts; we’ve already increased bond-borrowing to unsustainable levels; property taxes are rising with no end in sight. Someone needs to ask the obvious question: Who’s going to pay for all this?
Chris Conley
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