The City of Wauwatosa would dissolve its Board of Parks and Forestry Commissioners under a proposal to be considered by the Common Council. The proposal suggests city staffing has evolved in recent years in ways that make it less necessary, and perhaps counterproductive, to retain the parks board's advisory role.
Until recent years, the Parks & Forestry Division had been overseen by an operations superintendent, with support from a parks field supervisor and another supervisor for the city's forestry operations. The city has since transitioned to a division structure led by a parks and forestry superintendent and supported by a parks and green space manager, a parks field supervisor and a forestry field supervisor.
"This structure has created a stronger leadership team with significantly more trained and experienced staff dedicated to the planning, management and implementation of park and urban forestry initiatives and design," two council members, Robin Brannin of District 9 and Joe Phillips of District 7, wrote in a memo to the council. "As a result, Wauwatosa is now well positioned to lead park system planning and implementation internally. This enhanced structure has allowed staff to effectively advance key Common Council initiatives and major park projects."
They cited Firefly Grove Park as an example of this new structure working well. Creating and opening the new west-side park in May 2025 "required significant coordination, planning and operational oversight that would have been difficult to achieve under the city’s previous organizational structure."
The proposal to eliminate the parks board is scheduled to be discussed by the council's Government Affairs Committee at 6:45 p.m. May 12 at City Hall and on Zoom.