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Wausau utility to propose hires and pay changes to keep experienced operators
Summary
HR and utility staff said on Aug. 5 they will present recommendations in September to add FTEs and adjust pay to retain tenured operators, citing impending retirements, lost tacit knowledge and rising overtime costs.
Wausau Waterworks staff told commissioners on Aug. 5 they will bring formal recommendations next month to add full-time positions and increase hourly pay to reduce overtime and preserve operational knowledge as long-tenured employees near retirement.
The discussion centered on service continuity: Lisa, the city's human resources director, told the commission that many of the utility's most tenured employees are approaching retirement and that the utility risks losing "tacit knowledge," which she defined as "the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing or verbalizing." Lisa said retaining or adding staff preserves institutional knowledge transfer from experienced operators.
Staff provided preliminary budget context and estimates: current utility overtime paid year to date is about $67,000; staff said that extrapolating current overtime hours (about 1,600 hours year-to-date) would produce roughly $130,000 and about 3,200 hours on an annualized basis. The director said estimates in the packet suggest addressing current staffing and adding positions would amount to roughly 1 percent of utility budgets now and about 1.5 percent when adding new staff; final numbers will be refined and included in 2026 budget planning.
Lisa said her recommendation will include support for additional FTEs and higher hourly compensation, and she asked commissioners to expect a formal package in September with tenure data, compensation comparisons and precise budget impacts. Commissioners asked to receive the utility operating budgets and other backup documents; staff agreed to coordinate with finance and distribute the requested materials.
No formal hiring decisions were made at the meeting. Staff were directed to work with HR and finance to prepare a recommendation and supporting documents for the commission to consider in September and to provide the operating budget documents requested by commissioners.
