City leaders have released a proposed Wauwatosa municipal budget for 2026 totaling $81 million that would hold staffing at current levels while trimming some service levels and increasing the citywide property tax levy by 2%.
The "executive budget" was posted to the city website on Sept. 30. That evening, Wauwatosa Finance Director John Ruggini and other city administrators presented it to the Common Council during in a committee session before the council's regular meeting at City Hall.
MORE INFO: Video of that presentation can be viewed here. The slide presentation is available here. The full executive budget is here.
The presentation's highlights for 2026 included a reduction of yard waste pickup to monthly instead of biweekly, a reduction of one firefighter position, cost-of-living increases for other staff salaries and savings through increased energy efficiency. City leaders also estimate that the city portion of individual homeowners' tax bills will increase an average of about 8%.
For a home with an assessed value at the citywide average of $420,000 after this year's revaluation, the city property tax bill would increase from $2,142 to $2,318, or $176. Ruggini, however, cautioned that the city's revaluation process is still underway, and further adjustments to assessed valuations could influence what people ultimately see on their tax bills.
State law requires municipalities to conduct revaluations of all properties if assessed values have strayed too far from market values. A new higher assessed value does not automatically result in a tax increase, because municipalities typically lower their rates to adjust for those higher values. An individual may owe more in taxes relative to a neighbor if the person's home has increased in value faster than neighboring homes.
A better measure of the city's overall level of taxation is the tax levy, which is the total amount of revenue it plans to collect from property taxes. The proposed tax levy for 2026 is $53 million, up from about $52 million in 2025. The tax levy is the city's largest income source, making up about 69% of all revenues.
The estimated 8% increase in homeowners' property taxes, however, is significantly higher than the 2% increase in the tax levy. Ruggini said a primary reason is that home values have increased faster that the value of commercial properties. Multifamily apartment developments are considered commercial properties rather than residential for this purpose, he said.
"We're seeing a shift of value form commercial to residential," Ruggini said. At the same time, this year's revaluation has injected some uncertainty into the city's financial planning. "The revaluation is a huge undertaking and has significant impacts across the city, not just on the taxes that each of us pay."
State law limits how much the city can increase its tax levy, based on the amount of net new development, and it restricts the city from collecting certain other types of revenues, such as sales tax.
"Because the state provides so few other revenue options, there are few alternatives other than our residents to bear a disproportionate share of the cost of the budget," Ruggini said.
The Common Council's Financial Affairs Committee will review the proposed budget in more detail during meetings this month, and a public hearing will occur on Oct. 28. Final passage is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Here are a few other highlights from the officials' budget presentation.
Most money is budgeted for services
About half of the $81 million in budgeted expenses would go to public safety, with the police department budget totaling 25% and the fire department budget at 22% of expenses. Ruggini added that all departments with public-facing services total 73% of the budget, and "it's increasingly difficult to balance the budget without affecting the services that the 73% of the departments provide." Even so, this budget would maintain the equivalent of 489 full-time staff members.
Fire department reduction
The reduction of one firefighter position is an example of the impact of budget constraints on services. The 2026 budget would leave that position vacant to save $110,000. The fire department will still be able to provide a high level of service, but one fewer firefighter likely will increase the number of "brownouts," or shifts when there is not enough staff to operate each apparatus in the department's fleet, City Administrator James Archambo said. "It puts additional pressure on keeping that apparatus in service." Archambo said.
Yard waste changes
The city's curbside yard waste pickup will continue during the April to October months, but it will be reduced from twice a month to once a month. "We talked with our residents, and their feedback was very clear. They value the service but they also understood that the city had a need to reduce costs," Deputy City Administration Melissa Cantarero Weiss said. Estimated savings is $90,000. Residents also will be able to take yard waste to the city's drop-off center for free.
Solar savings
The city in recent years has installed solar panel arrays on some city buildings, including City Hall. Since 2017, that has saved the city $2 million in electricity costs, Weiss said, and the 2026 budget shows that the city is now paying half of what it would be paying for electricity without the solar panels. Separately, the city is looking to add more solar panels to other buildings, including the three fire stations.
Several future unknowns
Ruggini emphasized that the current budget proposal does not address several factors that could affect future expenses and revenues, including the potential merger of Wauwatosa's fire department with West Allis'. If such a merger is approved, it likely would mean millions in savings for both cities and possibly additional income in the form of state grants.
The 2026 budget also was developed as the city was responding to extensive damaged to some city-owned properties from flooding in August. The cost of repairs will depend partly on any federal assistance the city receives, and officials are still awaiting word from the federal government.
And the city is hiring a contractor to lay the groundwork for an anticipated project to update and renovate the City Hall complex and expand the Wauwatosa Public Library. The cost of that project is not yet known, and any construction is likely years away.
- David Paulsen, a Tosa East Towne resident and editor of Tosa Forward News, has more than 25 years of experience as a professional journalist. He can be reached at editor@tosanews.com.
