The proposed merger of Wauwatosa’s and West Allis’ fire departments cleared another significant hurdle this week as the Wauwatosa Common Council voted in favor of a preliminary list of terms for a final agreement.
Whether those bills will be received with angst or relief is likely a case-by-case judgment. It is particularly difficult this year for Tosa taxpayers to compare those bills with those that came before, for at least two reasons.
The Sonesta hotel on the southeast corner of Watertown Plank and Mayfair roads would be converted to apartments under a redevelopment plan now in the works.
Yard waste collection was one of two lingering issues that dominated the council's debate before it voted, 12-3, to approve the 2026 budget. The other primary debate was over an ongoing city subsidy for Bublr Bikes.
It was perhaps no surprise that there was no love lost between Dennis McBride and Andrew Meindl, who have sparred since facing each other in the last mayoral election in April 2024.
Without state or federal aid, that cost would be born by city taxpayers, either through a one-time tax levy increase, use of a portion of the city's cash reserves or a combination of those two options.
The 2026 city budget, scheduled to be adopted Nov. 18 by the Common Council, includes $42,000 for consulting services related to redevelopment around the Department of Public Works facility.
A new council structure and district boundaries, endorsed in concept by voters in a 2022 referendum, will take effect with the next term, and it already suggests some interesting council races in the spring.
Construction could get underway as early as next year. Tosa Skateboarders United plans to kick off its new fundraising campaign to add the lights at a "flash mob" event at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at the park.
The county has received federal funding for a new Lead Hazard Reduction Program, and county residents who suspect their houses might contain lead are encouraged to apply.
