Wausau’s Finance Committee on Nov. 25 reviewed whether to extend Tax Increment District 7 for one year to direct tax‑increment funds to affordable housing.

Staff told the committee that, under state law, a one‑year housing extension would make about $1,000,009.66 in incremental revenue available; staff estimated the City’s share at roughly $842,000, the Wausau School District’s share at about $665,000, Marathon County’s share at about $354,000 and North Central Technical College’s share at about $104,000. The presentation noted that 75% of the one‑year increment must be used for affordable housing as defined by statute (housing that costs a household no more than 30% of gross monthly income).

“Based on this year’s levy, that is the amount we would be able to set aside for affordable housing,” staff said, summarizing the increment and reminding the committee that some state aids are excluded from the one‑time extension calculation.

Committee members discussed trade‑offs. One option was to close TID 7 and use the resulting levy capacity to free roughly $424,000 for operating needs (staff gave firefighters as an example). Keeping the district open would preserve about $1.9 million for housing projects in future budgets but yield only about $69,000 to the city’s operating budget in the near term. Staff cautioned that boundary amendments or other changes would take longer than the window available between now and the statutory deadline.

Members asked how narrowly the resolution should identify target sites. Staff recommended keeping the resolution relatively generic to preserve flexibility to apply funds to different sites across the city rather than legally restricting the money to named parcels.

The committee did not take final action. By consensus members agreed to defer a decision so economic development staff and council can further consider scenarios and timing ahead of the council deadline (statute requires action by Jan. 10, 2026).