Committee approves summer hours pilot for City Hall starting July 4; will go to council after 3–1 vote

The Wausau City Committee voted 3–1 to send a summer hours pilot to the City Council that would change City Hall's summer schedule to 7:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Fridays, running from July 4 through Labor Day.

Caitlin, a city staff member leading the proposal, described outreach and data collection plans for the pilot, including drop boxes, paper and online surveys, QR codes placed throughout the community, social media polls, press releases, a summer flyer and a utility-bill insert. She said staff used transaction data from 2023 and 2024 to inform the proposal and intends to partner with local institutions — including the University of Wisconsin and UW Extension — to reach underserved populations and non‑English speakers. Participants discussed using school PTO contacts and other community networks to reach Spanish‑speaking and Hmong community members.

Several committee members raised concerns about resident access. One member said the pilot generated unsolicited negative feedback the prior year from residents who arrived at City Hall when it was closed and expected staff availability; another argued many residents working 8 a.m.–5 p.m. would not be able to visit earlier in the morning. Suggestions included shortening the pilot window (for example, July 4 to Labor Day rather than Memorial Day), delaying the pilot until additional public input is gathered, or collecting pre‑ and post‑pilot data to measure impacts.

Police Department leadership said it initially opposed the change in 2024 but, if the council approves the pilot, will track and report back on how the altered hours affect service interactions at the police lobby (for example, drop‑offs of prescriptions or other in‑person transactions). Staff noted that municipal court hours would require an ordinance change if made permanent.

Committee member Michael moved to implement the pilot under Option 1 (7:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Thursday; 7:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Friday). A seconder amended the motion to run the pilot July 4 through Labor Day rather than Memorial Day to Labor Day; the motion and amendment were seconded. The committee approved the amended pilot 3–1 and will forward the recommendation to the City Council for final consideration.

The transcript records the committee's direction to collect community feedback during and after the pilot and to return data for council consideration; a permanent change would require additional action and, for some departments (including municipal court), possibly an ordinance amendment.