Wausau police propose cuts and urge council to consider using animal-control reserve to restore hours

Chief Barnes, Police Chief, told the finance committee the department faced a constrained budget and state/local limits that prevent cutting sworn staffing without penalty. The department worked with its leadership team and the union to identify reductions that would reduce expenditure without degrading basic public safety, producing a cost-to-continue budget that preserves core services while trimming several non-sworn areas.

Among the reductions the department offered were reduced hours for CSO (civil service/animal-control) positions, capping the non-dog-stray (cat) contract at 150 cats per year (down from a previously budgeted 200), deferring a radio replacement cycle for one year (about $50,000 normally), eliminating a $4,500 software subscription (Guardian Tracking), and drawing down a multi‑year supply of ammunition (a one-time deferral). The department said it budgeted $20,000 for animal-control hours in 2026, a sizable reduction from staffing levels that had supported a 60-hours-per-week animal-control model.

Alderman McElhinney and other committee members expressed disappointment, saying the reduction reverses promises made to constituents when the humane officer model changed and that community expectations had been raised. Several alderpersons pushed staff and the chief to revisit the possibility of using the animal-control fund’s reserves — which Mary Anne said held about $119,785 at the end of 2024 — to restore hours. Chief Barnes said the fund’s reserve could be used and that if the council prioritized restoring hours, staff could recommend using non-levy reserve funds rather than general levy dollars; he estimated to fund 60 hours per week on average would require approximately $80,000 and that the current recommended budget holds about $20,000 for 2026 (the difference to fully restore the model would be roughly $60,000).

Alder Tierney noted the police department’s CSO twos had recently completed humane-officer training, and both Chief Barnes and Mary Anne said those trained staff could carry out expanded animal-control work if budgeted hours were restored. The chief also noted the department would adjust officer duties to cover stray-animal calls if the CSO hours were reduced, and he said that would be consistent with past practices when explicit animal-control staffing was not in place.

Committee members asked staff to report back with options for using the animal-control fund reserves and the financial implications for levy and expenditure-restraint calculations.