OCTOBER 14, 2025 Special Budget meeting was called to order by Mayor TeStrake at 5:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall. PRESENT: Mike Feirer, Derek Wehrman (via Zoom), Natasha Tompkins, Brian Varsho, Scott Koran, Jen Delis, Brian Giles, Rebecca Spiros, Mike O'Reilly. ABSENT: Andrew Reigel The flag was saluted and the pledge given. CITIZEN COMMENTS • Pete Lotzer, 1209 E. 25th Street, representing Communications Committee, future budget concerns CC25-175 Motion by Varsho, second by Delis to approve the minutes of the October 6, 2025 Budget meeting. Roll call vote, all ayes. Motion carried Mayor TeStrake turned the chair over to Alderperson Spiros, Chairperson of the Finance, Budget and Personnel Committee. City Administrator Barg provided the following updates as requested at the October 6th meeting: • Accounting Manager, Jordan Munger, e-mailed two requested reports. One listing all grants applied for this year; the second with a list of cuts made by department to present a balanced budget. Finance Director, Jennifer Selenske, presented on the City's general fund balance and alternative revenue options. The general fund balance measures the City's financial health. This money can be used for one-time projects or emergency expenses. It is not recommended to use this fund to balance on-going expenses. The EDB Fund 205 has available an unassigned balance and $657,000 is being transferred to the general fund this year. The balance at the end of 2026 will be approximately $953,000. We do not anticipate a dividend payment from Marshfield Utilities which has previously been deposited in this account. Revenue options to consider include wheel tax, transportation utility, stormwater management utility, garbage collection charges or an operating referendum. Council was given the opportunity to ask questions and recommend changes to the 2026 budget. Alderpersons Feirer, Tompkins, Varsho, Koran, Delis, Giles and O'Reilly had no comments. Alderperson Wehrman expressed how important the Community Development Director position is. Perhaps the current Parks & Recreation position duties can be reassigned to free some money for the CDD position? Alderperson Spiros turned the chair back to the Mayor temporarily. Alderperson Spiros addressed several concerns. The City needs to find revenue sources. The CDD position is a crucial position. She suggested the following areas to help fund the position: not hiring the position in January, use the resignation at Parks and Recreation to redistribute duties and shift funds, reduce amounts allotted to MACCI and Main Street Marshfield. She further added the Council should consider a fee-based contract for services with MACCI instead of a set funding amount. Marshfield Utilities will not be providing a dividend, can a dividend from Wastewater be explored? The City will eventually have to absorb the Communications Director into the General Fund. We need to start planning for that. Alderperson Koran asked where would budgeted money go for the Park and Rec. position while decisions are made? That is a very fluid situation right now. Alderperson Giles stated finding revenue sources would be easier than making more cuts. He would like more information on a Wastewater dividend. Mark Kivela, Wastewater Superintendent, expressed that this idea has surfaced previously and there were many reasons it wasn't pursued. The Wastewater Utility does fund half the Plumbing Inspector position, one-third the GIS Coordinator position, street charges for project work (likely two to two and a half FTE's), and fees to Engineering and Finance. Municipal Code §14-61 outlines disposition of fund and would need to be changed if this moves forward. Alderperson Wehrman is not opposed to exploring a Wastewater dividend but also hears Mark's concerns. He would like to explore how we can work with our partners regarding the Park and Rec. position and Economic Development. He also asked why the Council doesn't review the Marshfield Utilities budget. If they are part of the City, why are they operating independently? Barg stated part of it has to do with PSC oversight of utilities. Wehrman requested further information and transparency regarding the topic. Alderperson Tompkins said the 205 fund needs to be reviewed. Can we pursue a service-based contract with MACCI? She agreed PSC has oversight over water and electric utility, but not communication utility. She is concerned the communication utility is earning an average of 24% each year and the primary customer is the fiber loop for the City and School District. This isn't fair to the tax payers and needs to be examined. What was the original construction cost of the fiber loop? When will it need to be replaced again? She also asked if the Zoo Endowment is transferring money to the general fund this year for zoo operations? Selenske stated this fund is still being established. Alderperson Koran provided a reminder that Visit Marshfield pays 40% of the wage/benefit of the Parks and Recreation event position. Barg added that an additional 40% comes from the 205 Fund and 20% from Parks and Recreation budget. Alderperson O'Reilly has concerns about motor pool. He questions the charges versus expenses. Can motor pool be cut in each department budget to be closer to actual replacement cost of equipment being used. This will be reviewed in the coming months. Alderperson Varsho would like a high-level report on implementing a transportation utility. The Council was reminded that they can contact staff if they have any questions or want more information. Additional information requests • Information on Wastewater dividend creation • Information on transportation utility Date/times of upcoming budget meetings: 1. Monday, October 20th at 6:00 p.m. 2. Monday, October 27th at 6:00 p.m. 3. Tuesday, November 25th at 6:00 p.m., Public Hearing and adoption Motion by Varsho, second by Delis to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, /s/Jessica Schiferl Jessica Schiferl City Clerk WNAXLP October 24 2025 LWIX0393379