Wausau City Hall. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Tax Increment Finance District #7 in Wausau will close in 2026 without a one-year extension to support affordable housing projects in the city.
The City Council deadlocked 5-5 on the issue Tuesday, with Mayor Doug Diny casting the tiebreaking no vote. Council President Lisa Rasmussen was one of the no votes, which she said would likely surprise some residents. “I feel like we have made movements that have moved the needle on affordable housing. We have projects that are building, but have not cut the ribbon. I feel like when those projects open, we will see a substantial increase in the available affordable units.”
Others on the Council felt it would be a poor look to divert new money from the general fund when the city is considering a public safety referendum for the April ballot. “I would much rather see the TIF District be closed and have the money be put towards our citizens’ public health and safety [by] retaining our police and firefighters,” said Alder Lou Larson.
The move will put a combined $2 million back into the pockets of the city, the county, the school district, and the technical college. The city had the option to extend the district by one year, with the money then going to help pay for affordable housing. Alder Tom Neal noted that money would not have an expiration date on it and could be used anywhere in the city, which is why he supported the measure. “That’s two million dollars [to which] we would be saying ‘Naw, we don’t need that, let’s just let that slide.’ A whole lot of our constituents would say, ‘Two million dollars, for affordable housing, and you just let it go?’ I’m going to continue to support this.”
Neal previously described the situation as a “darned if we don’t, darned if we do” situation when the issue was discussed at the Economic Development Committee earlier this month.
A similar move was made with TID 6, which brought $3.87 million for housing projects, including the Westside Commons and 700 Grand Avenue Apartments. City leaders say the $1.9 million generated by TID 7 could have been used to kick-start development at the recently acquired Marathon Box site or 1300 Celveland Avenue.
RELATED: Wausau Committee Votes to Support TID 7 Extension for Affordable Housing
Unofficial numbers presented during Tuesday’s meeting indicate that the move would reduce the combined mill rate by about $0.45, equating to a savings of about $45 per $100,000 of assessed value.
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