WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – Five local nonprofits could lose funding under the proposed Marathon County budget.
One of the nonprofits on the chopping block is The Women’s Community, a local shelter for women dealing with domestic violence. Jane Graham Jennings, the center’s executive director said, “Anything we have that’s a cut is always an issue with our program – we have to find a variety of funding sources to try to make our budget, to try to make sure that we’re able to provide seamless services.”
But not all members of the Board of Supervisors are on board with the cuts. “The board will make that decision, I personally don’t believe that we should be treating partners that we’ve contacted with, dropping all of their funding, at the nineteenth hour if you will,” said chairman Kurt Gibbs.
Gibbs said he would be open to cuts in the future, but only if nonprofits are given more time to find other funding options.
The North Central Community Action Program, which assists low-income community members in several ways including securing affordable housing; The Nurse Family Partnership Program, which provides health services for mothers and newborns; and the Marathon County Historical Society are also on the chopping block.
The cuts range from $15,000 to $55,000 for each non-profit. The total budget cut would be $198,133 for all five groups.
Several county committees will debate the budget on Wednesday. The Marathon County board will vote on the budget on Thursday.
