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Wausau finance committee accepts VW settlement grant to buy 10 transit buses
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Summary
The finance committee approved accepting a Volkswagen settlement grant and a related 2025 budget modification to purchase 10 buses for Wausau Metro Ride, with the state covering 80% and the city responsible for the remaining share; staff warned final prices could change and additional approvals may be required.
The Wausau Finance Committee voted Tuesday to accept a Volkswagen (VW) settlement grant from the State of Wisconsin and to authorize a 2025 budget modification to purchase 10 buses for Wausau Metro Ride.
The committee’s chair opened the discussion by saying the most recent spreadsheet shows the current cost of each bus at $601,700. A staff member told the committee that “the cost of each bus will be $601,700” but that a letter accompanying the vendor price warned tariffs and other factors could increase the final cost.
The nut graf: the grant covers up to 80% of eligible costs; the committee approved accepting the grant and the budget modification pending final purchase-order pricing, and staff said the city would be responsible for any amount above the budgeted share.
Committee discussion and details A staff member summarized the financing: the total grant award is $6,400,000, which reflects an assumed per-bus share in the committee’s budget math of roughly $640,000 per bus. The staff member said that, under the grant, the State of Wisconsin would pay 80% of each bus’s cost and the city would pay 20% of eligible costs. The staff member added that if the vendor’s final price exceeds the budgeted $640,000 per bus, the city would need to return to the finance committee and common council to identify alternate funding or change the order (for example, to buy fewer buses).
Staff cautioned the committee that approving the grant is the first step in the purchase workflow: after the committee and council approve the budget modification and award, staff must develop a purchase order, submit it to the state for approval, and then the vendor (listed in the packet as Gillig) would be authorized to proceed. The staff member estimated the state purchase-order approval could take up to about 90 days and noted the vendor price could change during that interval.
Committee members also raised the risk that global supply-chain issues or tariffs (potentially on electronic components) cited in the vendor letter could change pricing. One committee member asked whether the city could reduce the number of buses if prices rose; staff said that was a possible option but that they would need to consult the state about how any change would affect the state share.
Vote and procedural notes A motion to accept the settlement grant and proceed with the budget modification was made by Committee member McElhinney and seconded by Alder Henke. The chair put the question; the committee voted by voice and the motion carried.
Ending Staff said they will proceed with the purchase-order process and will return to finance and council if the final purchase price requires additional city funding or a change in the quantity ordered.
