By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
Wausau’s recent hefty rate increases for water and sewer utilities do not include planned staffing changes that call for more personnel and higher salaries for employees, according to city documents.
A major rate hike for Wausau water customers went into effect in July, leaving many residents angry and concerned about their finances. The change meant the average Wausau resident saw their water bill ratchet up from about $292 annually to about $448, about a 54 percent increase. In 2021, the average annual bill was about $229 a year – about half of what Wausau citizens are paying today.
But future increases may be necessary. Although the recent rate increases covered expenses for the new facilities, they don’t cover additional staff or certain increased operational costs related to the new facility, city officials said.
City Council President Becky McElhaney confirmed three new positions have been requested for 2024 to assist with new technology. The ongoing discussion and requests for organizational changes have sparked concerns for McElhaney, who said the plan was presented to the Utility Commission with a $450,000 price tag – none of which was factored into the most recent rate increases.
The Utility Commission in 2022 spent tens of thousands of dollars on a separate hiring and wage study through Baker Tilly, McElhaney said. For reasons that are unclear, the study was performed even though the HR Committee had also commissioned a wage study through Gallagher for all departments not represented by a union.
Public Works Director Eric Lindman defended the need for adding positions and said staffing levels have been an issue throughout his tenure in Wausau.
“Our staffing levels prior to the projects were below recommended levels and now, with the new facilities, staffing levels are even further behind,” Lindman said, referring to the Baker Tilly report.
But the reasons for those staffing challenges are a matter of some debate. McElhaney said there is “no evidence” supporting the allegation that utility employees are leaving for higher wages. Seven people left the departments in 2023, none of which left for higher wages elsewhere, and Wausau’s compensation study completed this year shows the city is very competitive for this area, she said.
Though the staff increase is already reflected in the 2024 budget for Wausau, Lindman insists the proposal is to “slowly increase staffing over the next three years” at both the water and sewer facilities. “Staffing will be increased at the treatment facilities as well as on the distribution/collection crews as recommended in the report,” he added.
Lindman said that efficiencies have increased with the new facilities, but so have processes and added maintenance requirements.
“These additional treatment processes were added to meet new and increasing regulations and set up the utility to be able to better address future regulations that may be coming.” he said. “With these new treatment processes comes additional operations and maintenance required to keep these fully operational; we need additional staff to do this.”
Dist 4 Alder Doug Diny, who is challenging Katie Rosenberg in the spring election for the mayoral seat, said it feels “counterintuitive that a new plant would have higher staffing costs than an outdated plant, but I think it points to a fundamental process and organizational flaws… in theory, the Water Commission manages the utilities (enterprise funds). But the Common Council controls the budget and their focuses are not always aligned.”
Rosenberg did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
McElhaney is now seeking to understand the impact of any potential staffing increase and how it will affect the people who pay for water in Wausau. The HR Committee has requested a joint meeting with the Utility Commission to discuss the issues, she said, once a definitive fiscal impact of the requested changes is established. The Utility Commission has the authority to raise wages without the HR Committee’s approval, she noted.
“The rate payers of Wausau Water Works have had significant raises in their rates due to both the costs of the new facilities and the PFAS issues,” she said. “City Council’s goal is to reduce these rates as soon as possible, understanding how the rates impact every household.”
A rate change would have to come before the Public Service Commission, which City Council members previously balked at when Dist. 3 Alder Tom Kilian proposed changing the way water taxes are collected – an effort that could have slashed rates significantly for consumers. But despite the budget allotment listed in 2024 for the staffing changes, Lindman said he does not expect a water rate increase to go before the PSC until at least 2025.
“Based on the commission’s support of the increased staffing we need to show the staffing in the budget as an expense,” Lindman said. “It is always a good idea for planning to show any possible expenditures within the utility and compare that to our revenues, it keeps us aware of our cash positions. It is just likely that any new staff will not be brought on board until the middle of the year since we still have to go through the hiring process.”
Wausau’s 2024 budget reflects a significant increase in staffing for the new water and wastewater plants, which – though touted as more efficient – are already seeing public changes in fee revenue for 2024 at about $6.2 million more than three years earlier. That’s a roughly 40 percent increase.
