City department heads urge infrastructure, maintenance and staffing focus in multi-year goals discussion

Department directors laid out a multi-department case for prioritizing infrastructure maintenance, staffing and targeted growth as the city develops a new five-year strategic guide.

Mayor (opening the item) framed the conversation as high level and said staff wanted council agreement on a shared "true north" for the next several years rather than a detailed, project-by-project ranking. "We haven't had a conversation like this with the council really ever," the mayor said, asking whether council wants a growth mindset or prefers to maintain the status quo.

Adam Tagan, community development director, told council his department's top priorities are growing the city along the Highway 43 corridor to increase the tax base, focusing on senior housing to create churn in the housing market, and targeted neighborhood blight removal. "If Manitowoc wants to maintain and grow we see that corridor as a key point," Tagan said.

Public-safety and operations leaders emphasized long-term capital and staffing needs. Fire Chief Ben Krennic said the city funded a station study for fiscal year 2026 to analyze station configuration and staffing needs, and noted those options carry significant cost trade-offs. Public Infrastructure Director Dan Ksky urged the council to prioritize fleet replacement, building maintenance, and storm and sanitary sewer systems with annual earmarked funds and a multi-year plan, warning that deferred maintenance can lead to catastrophic outcomes.

City Attorney Eric Nich described the legal and health risks tied to aging infrastructure, citing near-100-year-old pipes and a single south-of-river interceptor. "I'm terrified of some of the things that could happen with what could become or might already be crumbling infrastructure," he said. On behalf of Human Resources Director Jesse Libridge, he also relayed concerns about employee compensation structures and called for the council to give personnel a higher budget priority; staff cited a comparison showing Manitowoc spends between 5% and 10% less of its general fund on personnel than some peer cities.

Other directors described department-specific priorities that align with the maintenance-and-growth themes: parks and recreation highlighted recent investments (Red Arrow Park, zoo exhibits, marina dock), tourism said it seeks a permanent visitor center and better marketing data, the police chief flagged evidence-storage and detective staffing needs, the library presented a strategic plan focused on outreach and community space, the city clerk noted election-equipment lifecycles, and finance said its role is to find fiscally compliant ways to support departmental goals.

Councilors generally supported the focus on maintenance. Alder Dunar urged prioritizing updates to existing infrastructure given demographic projections, while Alder Nurell expressed support for a growth mindset emphasizing taxable-base growth. The mayor said he envisions "growth" as increasing tax revenues rather than only increasing population, and proposed staff return a one-page strategic map and a separate work plan on performance evaluation and compensation.

Next steps: staff will compile a one-page guiding document of proposed priorities to present to council and will continue work on compensation and performance-evaluation proposals to bring back for council consideration.