By Hailey Clevenger
Published: Jun. 4, 2024 at 7:19 PM CDT
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Throughout his campaign, Wausau Mayor Doug Diny was adamant he’d lower spending costs in the city of Wausau and his latest veto is proving that statement.
Mayor Diny has vetoed hiring a consultant for $100,000 to create a re-development plan for North Riverfront. This would be the area north of Bridge Street. He questions what if they pay, and they don’t like the plan.
Diny wants to do more research on the North Riverfront and he knows that the issue of people paying more in taxes this year needs to be considered.
“What you actually get in a tax increase or decrease or whether it stays flat will depend on what city council does with the mill rate, what the school district does with their tax portion, what the county does, and what NTC does,” Diny said.
Rates will be different for everyone as residential evaluations went up 50% and commercial went up 20%.
Now, Diny is making some cuts and says people can expect more cuts in the future. However, his veto against the North Riverfront project can still be overturned. He says this is not a final no, but other projects like the Foundry on 3rd should take priority right now.
“We just broke ground this last week on the mall downtown, so that area is going to be less than half done, he said. “So let’s concentrate and focus on bite-size pieces we can handle.”
That doesn’t mean other projects at North Riverfront aren’t in the works. For example, the city is committed to the developments at Athletic Park to address parking and bringing in a women’s softball team similar to the Wausau Woodchucks.
“They would like additional parking, maybe other venue options so that area is not stagnant, so let’s not forget that it isn’t just a fallow piece of land that is a desolate wasteland,” Diny said.
The North Riverfront will remain an option but it’s an option that can be put on hold and buy the city some time to reassess what they want to do. The TID 3 budget for the North Riverfront project has seven years left on it. Diny said the city could look at it again in 2025.
“We have the capacity with our staff to do community engagement,” Diny said. “If we start hearing things and we get some ideas certainly we should take a look at how those play out.”
However, this veto is not the final say.
“Next with this veto, it will come before the next council meeting and essentially they will be voting on this again and we’ll require eight votes to get it to pass instead of the seven that passed last time,” said Diny.
In a statement from Wausau District 7 Alderperson Lisa Rasussmen:
“The veto of this issue is an odd choice since the request for proposals in question has no cost and the selection of any planning firm would be a future council decision and one that has already been budgeted for. The mayor advocated for growth and development during the campaign, which requires professional planning to prevent mistakes and determine locations for supportive infrastructure and things that operate on a five to seven-year advance plan that needs to be worked into those schedules and staff work.
Returning some of the larger, city owned properties in that zone to the tax rolls and growing the tax base through new development is one way to create some relief for current taxpayers. Economic growth and development was one of the three priority items the council selected at its retreat last month that it wants to work on this term, to generate new opportunities and to attract and retain talent. A key part of that is having adequate housing available since Wausau has a documented shortage in all rate levels and that particular area is likely to have a significant residential or mixed-use component. The mayor also mentioned a need to address parking for Athletic Park, which is expected to be a part of that plan design since it is a need in the area, and is part of our agreement with the Wausau Woodchucks. So, stalling that solution as well seems ironic.”
Mayor Diny says he’s put all his reasons out there, especially the one about spending. The last vote was 4-7.
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