Get to know the candidates for Wausau City Council Dist. 5

What motivated you to run for office?

Gisselman: Encouragement from friends, and a deep interest in having a open and honest government

Alfonso: Over the years, I have been approached by many friends and residents of Wausau to run for “something”. I have been busy most of my life in the private sector and more recently, in the non-profit sector, but now I am retired and am willing to serve our city and county.

What is the biggest concern you have about the way Wausau’s municipal government operates today, and how do you propose to manage that, if elected?

Gisselman: Overall, I think the government of Wausau works very well. Some priorities have to be addressed such as maintenance of streets. The workers of the city serve the city very well.

Alfonso: My biggest concern is that Wausau is not growing—specifically its tax base. We need to attract new businesses and residents. With our current policies creating high property taxes, high fees, ridiculous water bills, and over-regulation, Wausau isn’t growing its tax base, its running it out of town!

It is simple economic truth that the private sector “pays” for the public sector. Without a growing private sector, businesses large and small, we cannot finance a public sector that provides our traditional basic services and infrastructure. Traditional basic services are those that center around public safety. They include police, Fire, public works, parks and at the county level, courts and public health. I would like to see local government tax less, regulate less and mandate less. We need to focus on the effective and efficient delivery of these services and stay out of the “social wars.”

Residents are concerned about the city’s debt and financial stability. If elected, what steps would you take to put our city on firmer financial footing?

Gisselman: The City Council has to be very careful on future borrowing. I am not against insuring debt, but it has to be for the needs of the people.

Alfonso: Our biggest financial problem, that always seems to lead to higher property taxes and a less competitive Wausau, is this: there are good grants and there are bad grants. Just because we can get “starter” funds from Madison or D.C. does not mean we should accept them, or their recipe for our future. Much of this free money “steers” us to accept big government, agenda driven solutions to our problems, and we get stuck with the debt! We need to be wiser about “free money.” After all, it’s not free money—it’s our money. We should demand from our legislators that this money return to municipalities with less strings attached.

How do you plan to involve residents in the decision-making process in our community and be transparent in your decision-making?

Gisselman: I try to listen to the concerns of the city by the residents.

Alfonso: This is a two-fold question, I believe. Simple civics says the resident is involved in the decision-making process by electing his representative, whom he can vote out. I would like to address the transparency aspect of the question. This is where you, the press, must play a function. You must seek argument and rebuttal from our politicians on all issues. You cannot simply focus on divisive social issues (because that sells papers) while ignoring the financial ones. You have constitutional protections and consequently a duty to get representatives on record for all important issues. Hopefully Wausau still has more tax- payers than tax-consumers. Report on money issues with some deference to those that pay taxes.

How can Wausau effectively tackle the ongoing housing shortage, particularly for people with low to moderate incomes?

Gisselman: Housing that people can afford is a great need in this community. The city needs to develop a strategy for an all-encompassing housing plan. A plan that provides housing for all elements of the population

Alfonso: First, I question the “lack” of housing…In my political door knockings I have encountered many, many empty houses. How many are there in Wausau? Maybe it’s just District 5. This deserves thorough investigation before we take on new debt to buy “new” housing. To the degree that there is a shortage of housing, especially for low to moderate incomes, look no further again than to high property taxes and water bills. Renters, you pay them too! Take an example of a rental unit worth $100,000. The property tax alone eats about $200/month! I know that there are bad landlords, but in my time at St. Vincent de Paul I have learned how landlord unfriendly Wausau can be. Some things, like the cumbersome eviction process is governed by state statute but local ordinance enforcement that should fall on the tenant, like mowing the lawn, improper garbage disposal and payment of the water bill are often stuck with the landlord.

What can Wausau be doing better to help the homeless population in the city?

Gisselman: The whole city council has to be determined to deal with the homeless population in a caring and respectful manner. The city council cannot be divided on the approach to helping our homeless population.

Alfonso: For too long the homeless problem has been falsely portrayed as an economic one, that “anyone of us” is a job loss away from being on the streets. The truth is that most suffer from mental health issues or substance abuse, and the combo is lethal! These are people who have lost their connection or “bridges” to supportive society. Prior to the 1970s, many were in mental health hospitals that no longer exist. We may need to explore, with our state legislators, changes to Chapter 51 (commitment statutes).

I think that Police Chief Matt Barnes has a good knowledge of these issues but we all are going to have to make some tough decisions, particularly regarding some sort of exclusivity. We do not have the resources to “import” more homeless. Subsidiarity dictates that we must help our own residents first. I would particularly like to work with Wausau and the county on this issue if elected.

What is the most exciting thing happening in Wausau right now?

Gisselman: The cultural life of the city is quite exciting. The arts, the parks, and special events make this a great city

Alfonso: The most exciting thing in Wausau right now, are the elections, and the possibility of changing our policies that have put us on this downward spiral, a decline that has us looking more and more like Milwaukee or Chicago.

How do you feel about the transportation options available in our city, and what would you do to tackle the challenges you see?

Gisselman: The transit situation has to be carefully looked at. The new transit director has an opportunity to shift attitudes on transit.

Alfonso: Just because we get “starter” funds from Madison and D.C., as I mentioned above, does not mean we should accept them and follow their prescriptions for transportation in Wausau. Let’s be honest, other than subsidizing public school transit, our buses are virtually empty. Those “behemoths” may make sense in Milwaukee but not here. Are we really considering “electrifying” them as well?
Has anyone calculated the cost per ride to the taxpayer?. A limo may be cheaper! We should look into other solutions for our transportation problem. A small fleet of vans? Partnerships with taxis and Uber?

After multiple rate increases, many residents are concerned about their water and sewer bills. What is the best way to manage this issue, while still providing Wausau with the clean water it needs?

Gisselman: For now the water rates are set. Into the future, the Water Commission and the Wausau City Council has to work to keep the rates stable into the near future. It is hard to predict what the future of water and sewerage rules and regulations are going to be. The Water Commission and the Cit\y Council has to be in front of the citizens with regard to increases in water rates in the future.

Alfonso: First, get rid of the (PILOT) payment in lieu of taxes. Many readers of this paper have been well educated by me and others of this transparency lacking scheme. Suffice it to say that almost 20% of our water bill goes to finance other city programs, not to provide clean water.

Second, I say that we should apply cost benefit analysis to all potential pollutants, not just water pollutants. Did we really spend $18,000,000 to reduce PFAS by a measly 40 parts per trillion? Check my math, but isn’t that .000000000004% reduction for $18,000,000! I’m an old college chemistry student, toxicity is measured by concentration, not by the element itself. As for lead pipe removal, there is more lead pipe “in” the house than outside the house! $80,000,000 just to remove just the pipe to the house?

All these elements and compounds can be toxins at concentrations but remediation should be prudent, not dictated by “politicized” dangers from unelected bureaucrats at DNR or EPA.

How will you work to keep tax increases to a minimum while maintaining expected services for residents?

Gisselman: Compromises will have to be made on the meeting of needs of the citizens with regard to expected services and the level of taxes that the city expects of its taxpayers

Alfonso: I will vote to cut taxes, period!

Which does the city need more: A city administrator, or a mayor? Why?

Gisselman: If the city would have a city administrator, the city would need at least a half time mayor. If the city moves toward a city administrator, I would advocate for a referendum to see what the citizens have to say .

Alfonso: We do not need an administrator. We do not need another unelected official that recent experience in Wisconsin has shown, can be difficult to challenge, remove and can leave whenever he or she wants. We certainly do not need both!

For those that say we need the expertise of an administrator, I say we already have that expertise…they are called department heads. A mayor should have real world experience in business and so should members of the council. With the help of the council, the mayor’s primary job is to manage the city’s department heads, not use the office primarily as a stepping stone to higher office.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

Gisselman: I am a lifelong resident of the city of Wausau. I have live on the northeast side of Wausau my whole life. Wausau has many good things going for it. A few corrections have to be made. What is the future of downtown? How is Wausau going to approach the need for housing, the need for jobs? We have not talked about that. With my experience in local government I can contribute to that discussion.

Alfonso: I love hockey and opera and golf!