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Friends of Uptown Social fund pilot adding part-time hours at Uptown Social; council approves budget amendment
Summary
Sheboygan City committee approved a 2026 budget amendment to allow hiring additional part-time staff at Uptown Social, financed by a private grant to the Friends of Uptown Social. The pilot adds about 20 weekly hours, starts July, includes a six-month review and incurs no direct city budget cost.
Sheboygan City committee voted to approve an amendment to the 2026 city budget that authorizes hiring additional part-time staff at Uptown Social, a senior programming center, with the positions paid by a private grant to the Friends of Uptown Social.
The change was presented as a pilot program funded entirely by the Friends of Uptown Social. "The friends are footing the entire bill. No added cost to the city," said the representative for the Friends of Uptown Social during the committee presentation. The grant will initially cover roughly 20 additional hours per week, starting in July and running through the following June, with a six-month review to evaluate continuation.
Council members asked about the roles those hires would perform and how the arrangement would be administered. Staff and the Friends' representative said the part-time employees will primarily provide front-desk services and take on administrative projects that currently pull full-time staff away from other duties; volunteers will continue to handle limited tasks but will not process credit cards. The additional staffing will also support expanded evening programming—Tuesday evenings were cited as an existing success—and special events and rentals.
City staff clarified the administrative mechanics: although payroll and supervision are handled by the city, the Friends group will reimburse the exact payroll costs. "From the budgeting perspective... the salary is paid by the Friends' funds, but from the standpoint of the administration we still do some work to keep the employee," a city director explained, noting finance will invoice the Friends periodically for the costs.
The committee moved to approve the amendment; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. Committee members said they supported the pilot as a low-cost way to expand services for seniors while monitoring demand and program outcomes. The six-month review and a decision at the one-year point were noted as the next procedural benchmarks.
