County budget priorities | Weekly Wausonian
Wausau news for the week of July 17, 2025
Correction: The fifth bullet point had a typo that made the sentence say the opposite of its intended meaning. It has been corrected.
Marathon County leaders this month got their first look at five of the county’s budget priorities from the county administrator.
They include:
Employee compensation: The county, like many employers, has struggled to retain employees. Compensation and workload were two of the biggest complaints county leaders heard from employees.
Controlling spending and reserves: How the county thinks about reserves and contingency funding is being looked at this budget cycle.
Health care spending: The county is looking at increases, and that means the status quo for current employees and the current mix of shared costs will likely not stay the same.
New positions — there won’t be any: Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonhard says there won’t be any new positions in this year’s budget. At least not any that are funded through the tax levy. (Sometimes grants can fund certain government positions.)
Hard conversations on whether or not to fund operational requests from department heads. Leonhard says that their department heads do a good job managing budgets, but they don’t want to discourage new innovative ideas either.
Also mentioned in an early county meeting on the 2026 budget is the idea of keeping taxes flat - but that has yet to be clarified as to whether that means keeping the tax levy itself flat, or the mill rate, and how any net new construction increase that is allowed under state law would factor in.
The conversations are part of the county’s efforts to start budget talks as early as possible and include as much involvement from county board members as possible, in part to avoid a number of challenging last-minute amendments that haven’t had time to be financially vetted.
One of the features of The Wausonian is that we dive deep into Marathon County and Wausau’s budgets so taxpayers can stay informed through these complicated processes. Keep an eye on those as budget season nears in the fall.
What else in Wausau?
Pho Zone opens in RiverLife: After a few snafus on who would run the RiverLife concession stand after Briq’s announced it wouldn’t be open in the spot this season, Pho Zone opened July 2 in the city’s flagship park. The restaurant, which has a location in Weston, is offering some of its Asian cuisine along with American fare such as hot dogs and cheeseburgers.
Around the metro
County working on settlement for new opioid payments: Marathon County leaders last week authorized the county’s attorney to fill out forms and work with outside attorneys on a settlement with Sandoz in the latest opioid class action lawsuit. The total settlement is $99.5 million, according to the authorization resolution, and that would be divided up amongst all the class action parties. The county in 2017 elected to join a number of class action lawsuits holding opioid manufacturers accountable for their role in the opioid crisis. The proceeds go toward programs that combat addiction in Marathon County.
County lays out budget assumptions and new fund balance policy: County leaders are toying with an idea to eventually lessen the county’s general contingency funding and add contingency funds to individual departments instead. The funds would come from excess unspent budgeted funds for those departments, thus incentivizing departments to be judicious with spending. The idea would still need to be approved by the county board.
Kronenwetter has knocked down its legal fees substantially: Kronenwetter has reduced its legal fees substantially in 2025, a report to the village board shows. During a three-hour, 40-minute meeting Monday, the board reviewed information about 2025’s legal spending this year compared to 2024. In 2024 the village spent $127,660 on legal expenses; through June, halfway through 2025, the village spent only $17,928. That would put the village on track to spend only $35,856 in 2025, if the trend continues.
Kronenwetter considering removing fluoride from water: The Kronenwetter Village Board later this month will consider removing fluoride from its drinking water. The village discussed the idea of removing the substance as part of its new future agenda items section, which Village President David Baker says is part of a plan to give trustees more time to digest and discuss with their constituents complex and potentially contentious agenda items. The village’s CLIPP committee approved the measure recently. A Marathon County committee in April rejected a measure that would have recommended limiting fluoride in municipal water systems in Marathon County.
Business
New fusion restaurant opens in Rothschild: Jade Panda, a Filipino fusion restaurant, opened earlier this month in the building that housed Mongolian BBQ and before that, Khamchanh’s (by the way, the menu from apparently 2011 is still up).
Raising Cane’s looking at Fazoli’s spot: Raising Canes Chicken Fingers is eyeing the current Fazoli’s location to set up shop. The restaurant presented its plans to the Rib Mountain Plan Commission last week and got approval from Rib Mountain’s Board Tuesday.
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Entertainment
Reverend Raven and the Chain Smoking Altar Boys are a favorite of the blues fest crowd, and now they’re coming to Cheeks. Learn about that, plus a boozy garden event, a downtown night market, a challenging hunter’s hike, a rubber duck regatta and more in this week’s Wausome Weekend Guide:
Looking for kids/family events? Check out the family-oriented listing from The Wausonian’s partner Wausau Mama, who puts together a weekly listing of children/family activities.
Sports
College softball: The Wausau Ignite finally got its first win of July on Sunday, but otherwise have continued to struggle in its inaugural season. The Wausau Ignite defeated Mankato 14-6 Sunday, but that was the team’s only win in a five-game homestand against the Habaneros. They are currently in last place with a 7-21 record.
College baseball: The Wausau Woodchucks split a two-game away series with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, winning 10-3 on Saturday but losing 7-6 on Sunday. The Chucks are leading the Great Lakes West in the second half of the season, with a 9-3 record (30-17 overall).
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