Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonhard
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonard sat down to discuss the county’s biggest issues as the new year approaches.
Leonard highlighted the county’s budget, which is the board’s most important policy, and says taxpayers have something to be excited about heading into the new year, saying, “I think everyone in Marathon County can be really proud of their elected officials on the county board. The tax rate for the county dropped to $3.99, which is a drop of $.20 from last year, or about a 5% drop in the tax rate. When you look at your county tax bill, taxpayers can look at it and say, “Hey, I think I’m getting a great value.”
He also discussed how the county continues to invest in what he called the county’s most important asset, which is the people who work and live in the county. Some of those investments include a 3% pay bump in 2024 for county employees, and in terms of infrastructure, the board invested in over 30 miles of highway improvements and reduced the number of buildings the county uses, which will further help bring down the county’s taxpayer bill.
“We are looking to reduce that footprint…the lower number of parking lots along with the fewer number of boilers and chillers we have, and to the extent of fewer roofs, it’s better for the taxpayer because our services can be delivered in a more consolidated fashion, but it also lowers long-term operation costs,” Leonard continued.
The County Board has also invested allocations in partnering with internet providers to help increase broadband in rural parts of Marathon County. Leonard said they’re open to partnering with any provider who is willing to invest in the area due to the expansion of broadband access being important to economic development. Marathon County currently has one of the highest values of net new construction in the state, which Leonard credits to the county’s work to make the area a place people want to move to.
One major project that has been on the minds of Wausau residents is the ice sheets at Marathon Park, and Leonard says the county will be looking to help give those facilities a facelift, saying, “That facility is far older than I am in terms of their infrastructure. The County Board recently allocated some funds to really drill into that issue and see what the need is for ice sheet availability in our community, should the county be involved in that ice sheet business and be as fiscally responsible as possible, the board used non-tax levy resources to take out that study.”
The Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department, along with the Emergency Management Department, recently received a $300,000 grant to look at options to update the ice sheets and even have the facility become a resource if a disaster were to come, such as using it as a safe room.
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