The City of Wauwatosa has stocked its public health vending machine at City Hall for nearly a year, and at least one person's life was saved by the anti-overdose drug naloxone dispensed from the machine.
That detail was among the public health highlights shared by Wauwatosa Health Officer Laura Stephens on Oct. 14 as she reviewed her department's proposed 2026 budget at a meeting of the Wauwatosa Common Council's Finance Committee. She did not provide any additional information about the overdose that was treated with naloxone from the vending machine.
Stephens also emphasized the success of the Health Department's Period Pantry, which began in November 2024 providing menstrual products for free through 25 community partners. In just under a year, the city has distributed 439 tampon kits, 440 pad kits and 10 incontinence kits totaling 22,225 items.
The 24/7 harm-reduction vending machine was installed outside City Hall at about the same time, in November 2024, and since then, it has dispensed 1,357 items. The most popular items were hand-warmers (237), first-aid kits (188), COVID tests (177) and hygiene kits (157).
Naloxone, also commonly referred to as Narcan, was dispensed 124 times. The medicine is administered to rapidly reverse overdoses by blocking the effects of opioids, such as heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone.
The vending machine also offers a range of other public health supplies, including pregnancy tests, gun locks, fentanyl test strips and bug repellant.
Department heads began last week presenting their proposed 2026 budgets to the Finance Committee, which is meeting each Tuesday this month and will vote on amending and recommending the spending plan. A public hearing will occur on Oct. 28. Final passage of the budget by the full Common Council is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Additional information about the Health Department budget can be found in the citywide executive summary starting on page 110 here or by viewing video of the Oct. 14 meeting when it is posted to the city's website.
The Oct. 14 meeting also included presentations on the Fire Department and Development Department budgets. The police budget will be discussed at the Oct. 21 meeting.
The overall proposed Wauwatosa municipal budget for 2026 totals $81 million. It would hold staffing at current levels while trimming some service levels and increasing the citywide property tax levy by 2%. The city estimates that for an average home, with an assessed value of $420,000 after this year’s revaluation, the city portion of the property tax bill would increase from $2,142 to $2,318, or $176.
