Wausau City Council fails to suspend rules for water utility PILOT discussion | WSAU News/Talk 550 AM · 99.9 FM

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau City Council did not vote on a resolution directing the mayor to begin work on the 2025 budget without making a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) payment from the city’s water utility into the general fund.

The item was rejected without discussion on Tuesday after Council President Lisa Rasmussen objected to the suspension of Council rules on the matter, which require advance notice and committee referral for action items. “This item has come to us out of turn. Our rules require, for good reason, that resolutions brought before us are examined by our standing committees. Research is required. You need facts, you need numbers, you need data. None of that is here.”

Rasmussen says the idea of ​​reducing PILOT costs to reduce water bills is attractive and deserves attention, but she doesn’t want to see the idea implemented until concrete data is available and uncertainties are resolved. “We may have an impact on our bond valuation, this has not been legally reviewed or financially analyzed. It’s irresponsible of us to just throw a dart and say boom (let’s go for a 10% reduction).”

The idea was brought up during the 2023 budget process. At the last minute, an amendment to reduce the payment on a trial basis was even introduced into the budget approval meeting, but it failed. Many council members agreed that the item was worth pursuing further as part of this year’s budget.

Rasmussen added that she did not want the issue to be rushed just because it was attractive. “The procedure used here is not our procedure and it violates the (Council’s) rules.”

Many who spoke during the public hearing supported the change, noting that the $2 million would act like another tax on residents. Former District 3 Councilman Tom Kilian urged the council to act, adding that the issue was a cornerstone of Mayor Doug Diny’s campaign last winter. “This is what the majority of Wausania residents want, and it’s an implementation of that promise.”

Kilian also noted that eliminating the PILOT entirely could result in a reduction of up to 20% for some residents, citing the city’s own financial data as well as information from the city’s financial advisors.

Mayor Diny argued that the measure was symbolic in nature, saying that as chairman of the Wausau Water Works Commission, he wanted the alders’ leadership. Rasmussen added that the mayor did not need council approval for this because the original budget presented to the Finance Committee was essentially the mayor’s proposal. “If the mayor wants to make adjustments to that budget in the form of cuts (or) revenue reductions, he can make them without direction from the council and include them in his draft.”

The vote to suspend the rules failed because only five city councilors voted in favor, ending any possible discussion on this agenda item.

Councilors also voted to put on hold a proposed lead pipe replacement ordinance that has been in the works for three years. That item will likely be discussed in a committee of the whole before being taken up at an August council meeting. Councilors expressed confusion about what enforceable measures the ordinance might include. Councilors also discussed building protections for homeowners into the ordinance to prevent them from having to bear the costs if grants are not available in a given year.