Werthmann
Hirsch
Gragert
Werthmann
Hirsch
Gragert
EAU CLAIRE — Eau Claire City Council members voiced chagrin Monday that two initiatives they’d fought for are proposed to get their city funding reduced or delayed in coming years.
Councilman Andrew Werthmann noted the revised version of the city’s proposed 2023-27 Capital Improvement Plan showed impacts specifically to the city’s participatory budgeting program and Eau Claire’s investments in renewable energy.
“This is a big shock to our expected investments in the community,” he said.
For the renewable energy funding, it had been initially slated for $1.5 million in city funding over the next five years, in the first draft of the planning document released in late June. But the latest version shows $700,000 in city spending through 2027.
“It’s even less than half,” Councilman Jeremy Gragert noted. “That’s pretty dramatic.”
Finance Director Kitzie Winters said while the city wouldn’t be putting quite as much of its own funds toward renewable energy, it would instead be pursuing more grant money.
“That’s not de-investing in that, it’s just looking for other creative solutions to those programs,” she said.
Scott Allen, the city’s community development director, said there are new grant programs currently being developed through the Wisconsin Public Service Commission that could help fund future renewable energy projects in Eau Claire.
“There are several state-level grants that are coming out and coming online,” he said.
Werthmann was dismayed to see the city’s participatory budgeting program, aka Empower Eau Claire, pushed out into a future year.
Originally it was proposed to get $300,000 in 2024 and again in 2026 in the first draft of the 2023-27 CIP. But now it’s only slated to get $300,000 in 2027 in the document’s revised version.
”What I don’t want to see is that program disappear in the future,” Werthmann said. “That is a priority item we worked hard to get in the budget.”
He noted that the City Council worked for years to create that program, which solicits ideas and votes from community members on projects the city should do with $300,000 from its budget. It’s inaugural year was in 2021-22, but Werthmann said it took several years to get it up and running.
City Manager Stephanie Hirsch said she’s hoping the community involvement seen in Empower Eau Claire can be channeled toward resident participation in the overall city budget and other upcoming discussions of city issues.
“Those same tools, we really want those voices to guide everything we do,” she said.
However, Werthmann felt strongly that Empower Eau Claire’s ability to give people a say in projects done in their neighborhoods was important and brought out much more involvement than annual budget talks.
“We’ve tried so many things and gotten three people come to talk about the budget,” he said, adding that thousands voted for projects in Empower Eau Claire.
Councilwomen Emily Anderson and Kate Felton added their support to Werthmann’s comments about the importance of Empower Eau Claire.
The revised version of the 2023-27 CIP Winters presented on Monday night had made $27.5 million in cuts from the original draft presented in late June. Over the plan’s five years, the first draft proposed $246.8 million in projects spending while the revision brought that down to $219.3 million.
“We are running into numerous fiscal constraints,” Winters said.
The revised version made reductions in how much borrowing and general fund money would be used to pay for future city projects.
The first draft of the Capital Improvement Plan was written while the city did not have a finance director in place. It had been made after former Finance Director Jay Winzenz retired in April, but before Winters was hired this summer.
The City Council is scheduled to vote at its 4 p.m. meeting today on the 2023-27 Capital Improvement Plan.
Contact: 715-833-9204, andrew.dowd@ecpc.com, @ADowd_LT on Twitter
Werthmann
Hirsch
Gragert
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