Wausau finance committee weighs using animal control reserves to keep CSO program staffed

Police Chief Barnes asked the Wausau Common Council Finance Committee on Monday to consider a budget amendment drawing on the animal control fund’s reserves to maintain three Community Service Officer (CSO) positions that had been cut in preliminary budget drafts.

Barnes said, "I would ask that if, if you feel so inclined that a member of this committee make a motion to amend our budget to allocate 60 up to $60,000 of those reserve funds that remain from previous years, to be used to fund, the CSO twos. So $20,000 would be levy, which is in there right now." He added later that if those funds aren’t fully used they would flow back into the animal control reserve.

The request follows a year in which the newer CSO assignments helped increase licensing: Barnes said the program began “late March, early April” and estimated it produced “right about a thousand additional licenses as a result of the CSO twos this year.” He and other staff explained the animal control fund’s balance fluctuates with licensing compliance and with the cost of animals held for cause under contract with the Humane Society.

Finance staff reported the animal control fund balance at about $90,719 in the current budget book. Council members pressed Barnes on the unpredictable costs of held-for-cause cases, which he described as sometimes substantial: "held for cause can be anywhere between 5 and $50,000 depending on…if we respond to a residence and there's 30 cats in it and they're all being neglected…those would become, held for cause." He also estimated the department would take “between a hundred and 50 and 200 non dog strays” this year under the existing cat contract.

Committee members discussed procedural options. The chair suggested bundling this request with other line-item amendments rather than moving it alone. Alderman Kearney and others indicated a preference for funding the CSO positions from the animal control reserve rather than shifting money from unrelated funds such as economic development. Council members stressed that reserve use would be a one-time fix and must be balanced with the fund’s ability to absorb large, unpredictable held-for-cause expenses.

The committee did not vote on a budget amendment during the session and agreed to revisit the proposal as part of a broader set of amendments at a later workshop.

Ending: The Finance Committee left the chief’s suggested amendment pending; staff and councilors asked for additional context on shelter and humane-society contract costs, licensing revenue projections and a bundled amendment at the next budget workshop.