Wausau parks director outlines 2026 budget cuts; proposes rotating pool schedule and 7.5% fee increase

Parks Director Jamie Polley told the City of Wausau Finance Committee on Sept. 30 that the parks, recreation and forestry budget for 2026 includes large increases driven by county wage adjustments and higher indirect costs, and that staff proposed several offsets including a 7.5% increase to most user fees and rotating pool operations.

Polley said the county’s recent class/comp study produced a wage “true up” that raised the department’s full‑time payroll obligation and that the county also changed its indirect cost allocations for HR, finance and seasonal hiring support. “We did increase all of our fees 7.5%,” Polley said, adding that pool‑pass pricing was adjusted separately after discussion with the parks committee.

The department submitted a cost‑to‑continue budget and a separate list of proposed cuts totaling about $149,000. Cuts included operating all three municipal pools but opening only two per day on a rotating schedule (estimated savings $30,000), deferring a vacant half‑time administrative position (roughly $44,000), removing eight dumpsters across parks ($3,900), and reducing the small projects fund (about $29,000). Polley said the department also carries a $50,500 unfunded administration position in its baseline.

Polley and committee members discussed other proposed deferrals and one‑time savings such as not running decorative fountains on the 400 block (estimated $20,000) and suspending River Life fountain operations (estimated $17,000). Polley said some of those line items are room‑tax funded and may not be appropriate to move into the general levy. She also described a new asset management subscription, Cartograph, whose costs are split 50/50 with Marathon County.

Committee members, including Alder Watson and Alder Tierney, urged further consideration of keeping the third pool open and asked staff to continue exploring options. Watson said he wanted the committee “to fight for that third pool” and suggested the committee consider reallocating funds if possible.

The parks director noted a classification change for workers who provide park maintenance: what had been classified as payroll in some funds is now being budgeted as contractual services to better reflect that they are county employees or contractors. Polley said that reclassification will improve trend analysis for health insurance and other pooled charges.

No formal committee vote on the parks budget was recorded during the Sept. 30 session; the presentation was a staff briefing to inform the finance committee’s upcoming recommendation to full council.