Damakant Jayshi
Members of Wausau’s Human Resources Committee on Monday approved a police proposal to address the city’s challenges with homelessness, as opposition to adding additional police officers mounts.
Wausau Police Chief Matt Barnes is asking the city to use American Rescue Act Funding to hire two officers who would work directly with homeless residents and ensure laws and ordinances are followed in the city. The request has generated significant controversy, with homeless advocates criticizing the move as an outdated and ineffective approach to the issue. Last month, the Public Health and Safety Committee recommended sending Barnes’ proposal to the HR Committee for its consideration.
On Monday, Alder Sarah Watson floated a suggestion during the public comments period of the HR Committee meeting suggesting a compromise “to address short-term actions with long-term goals.” Watson suggested approving one officer and one community outreach specialist as an alternative to Barnes’ plan.
The HR Committee approved the Wausau Police Department’s proposal of hiring two police officers by a vote of 3-2, with Alders Becky McElhaney, Michael Martens and Dawn Herbst voting in favor and Alder Gary Gisselman and Tom Kilian against. No decision was taken on Watson’s compromise suggestion. The measure now heads to the Finance Committee and Council on Tuesday, April 9, the last time the current City Council will meet before new members are sworn in.
Rapid approval of the proposal could be crucial for Barnes, as the composition of the new council will see some changes. Terry Kilian, who will represent Dist. 3 on the next council, spoke out against the plan both Monday and during a previous meeting in March. But Alder Dawn Herbst, who has voted in support of hiring both officers, lost her re-election bid, and Dist. 4 will also see new representation later this month. And Mayor-Elect Doug Diny voted against the proposal in March and has spoken out against it, terming it a major shift in the city’s policy and strategy on homelessness.
Wausau has one community outreach specialist, Tracy Rieger, who works under the Wausau Police Department umbrella. Watson’s proposal would add a second specialist to that team. Some alders and advocates have questioned the arrangement since Rieger was hired in September 2022 and have repeatedly asked that the position be moved out from under police review.
Reaction on Monday was decidedly against hiring additional officers for this purpose. Altogether 10 people spoke against the proposal and six in favor, including two city employees.
Brenda Challoner said the proposal was trying to “criminalize homelessness,” and suggested the city is trying to punish people for being poor.
“Shame on you!,” she said.
Jay Kronenwetter, a Wausau attorney and former mayoral candidate, had strong criticism for the plan as well. Kronenwetter said Barnes’ proposal will have the appositive effect of what he’s trying to achieve.
“If in fact there is a large increase of homeless individuals from outside of this community, injecting them into the criminal court system will only ensure that they stay here,” Kronenwetter said.” While they are on bond, they are forced to be here.”
Patti Kittel, who works in criminal defense, shared that she, too, could have been homeless nearly 30 years ago. She spoke against hiring additional officers and said that in her job, she would personally benefit if police issued more citations or sent more people to jail, a solution that she opposes. Kittel shared a personal story about speaking with a homeless man who later told her that it was the first time in years someone had spoken to him with respect and treated him as a human being.
Curt Deininger, who was one of the three from the Community Outreach Task Force to speak on Tuesday, said homeless residents have been forced from all places they have tried to find shelter. After the city fenced off a section underneath the bridge where many homeless residents found shelter, they took to the woods – but were kicked out of those areas, too.
“Where will these people go?” Deininger asked.
He said homeless people face a vicious cycle. They cannot sit in a park for fear of being arrested and fined. When they cant pay their fines, they wind up in jail, and the cycle just keeps repeating. Though he understands the concerns of the business community, Deninger said, the heavy-handed attitude is what led to the current situation. He also pointed to the lack of public bathrooms and portable toilets that people could use to keep areas clean.
Conversely, speakers who supported adding officers cited what they called growing criminal activities caused by individuals without a permanent place to live.
Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Eckmann said they have experienced frequent break-ins and the business environment in the downtown area has been impacted. He also claims to have seen a “homeless” individual “smoking crack” while he was attending a recent Rotary meeting.
“When is the community going to step up provide resources,” he asked, while insisting the addition of the two officers is not about criminalizing homelessness.
His colleague, Renae Krings, vice-president at the Chamber, said she was speaking in favor as an individual working in the downtown area. She said the city needs more housing and long-term treatment to address homelessness. As an individual, she said, “I do support hiring of these resources. I don’t see this as a political issue.”
Metro Ride Director Aaron Hursey said the law enforcement aspect has to be there. Citing examples from Portland, Ore., where he worked before moving to Wausau, he said the city did not add law enforcement officers, leading to a “500% spike in assaults on employees” of the transport system. “It is not completely because of homeless people, and it is not always homeless people,” Hursey said. “But there is a sect that has mental illness, drug addiction, and with that carries often times violence.”
Similarly, Liz Brodek, director of the city’s Community Development Department, said the situation needs urgent attention. She said the city needs immediate enforcement against behaviors “that are detrimental to our downtown businesses” and “we need the compassionate, very holistic long-term support” that is truly outside of the realm of what the city can provide.
Committee Chair Becky McElhaney criticized what she saw as an attempt to downplay the criminal activities in the downtown area, and cited one example of a woman being assaulted at Jefferson Street parking ramp. She added some people were “conflating” the unhoused issues with criminal activities.
However, Alder Tom Kilian said the proposal was clearly and explicitly aimed at targeting a specific socioeconomic segment, the unhoused population who have nowhere to go. He said crimes of any category are not just related to one socioeconomic group.
Referring to some remarks during public comments, Kilian said he was stunned to hear the insinuation that somehow it is poverty and the poor that are restricting growth and development inn downtown.
“How many deals have exploded due to just poor planning, poor execution or an orgy of incompetence on the government’s part?” he said. “It was not because of poor people that any of that occurred.” Kilian also said the same people making those claims now are the same people who told the city years ago to give former mall owner CBL millions of dollars – before the company filed for bankruptcy and the mall eventually closed.
Barnes is seeking roughly $117,000 in ARPA funding to pay for the officers in the first six months. Full funding for 2025 would come from the Alexander Foundation, Barnes said. That could be extended if the results are positive. On Monday, Barnes reiterated that the city could opt not to continue with the additional positions after Dec. 31, 2025, the date of the proposal’s sunset provision.
On Monday, Barnes again described the homeless situation as dire, and said officers have been forced to divert their duties to downtown in response to increasingly frequent calls.
Watson, who represents Dist. 8, called the proposal to add two patrol officers a “very instant short-term solution” and said the city should work on a long-range plan that includes moving Rieger’s position to another department, such as economic development, due to its connection with the Community Development Authority. The CDA deals with matters related to housing for the elderly, near-elderly, disabled and low-income residents of the city. One of Rieger’s central goals is to secure housing for the people she works with.
Watson further suggested creating a director’s position, someone who would “navigate relationships with the [Marathon] county, nonprofits, and federal and state grants.”
“That position would still allow them to work closely with [the police department], but also focus on housing solutions at the same time,” said Watson, who also suggested that another Committee of the Whole meeting should be set to discuss a strategic plan on homelessness. This suggestion has long been championed by Dist. 5 Alder Gary Gisselman, as well as Diny, who again called for a COW meeting to “try to find answers” on homelessness.
Barnes said he is open to having community outreach specialist Rieger being a city employee under another arrangement and “open to all those different solutions.”
