Wausau City Hall. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau Parks and Recreation Committee heard a handful of proposed budget changes for 2027 as city leaders look to tighten up the proposed spending plan.
The list provided by City and County Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Director Jamie Polley included rotating single-day closures for city pools during the week, with two pools open five days a week and all three open on the weekends. Polley says the pools take up a large chunk of her department’s budget with a return of less than 20 cents on the dollar. “They are wonderful amenities, but that’s our biggest cost and our biggest staffing, and a cost recovery of 19%.”
Closing a pool doesn’t save on chemicals or water, but does cut staffing costs for the day. Of the more than $400,000 budget for the pools, about half is staffing. Polley told the committee there could also be some chemical savings by switching from chlorine tablets to liquid, but those figures haven’t been finalized yet.
Alders agreed that would be a difficult sell to the public, including Carol Lukens, who said she’s already gotten pushback from her constituents. Alder Bruce Trueblood suggested one day when all pools are closed, a day that could be used for maintenance or private rentals to help stimulate additional revenue.
The proposal also includes a forestry fee of $24 per year for homes and $96 per year for commercial, industrial, and otherwise exempt property (buildings like Churches or non-profit organizations that don’t already pay city taxes). That proposal drew a hard no from Alder Bruce Trueblood, who said he was opposed to any additional fees in next year’s spending plan.
No decisions were made as a result of Monday’s discussion, though alders did vote to instruct Polley to move forward with incorporating those proposals into the upcoming budget. Of course, the budget is still in the planning stages, and any final decisions will still rest with the full council when it votes on the spending plan in November.
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