Common Council 10-29-2026

The Marshfield Common Council’s special 2027 budget-review meeting on October 29, 2026, considered budget adjustments and the Economic Development Fund (Fund 205). Staff reported that identified adjustments balanced an initial $50,135 deficit. Council voted to defer the $11,250 fairgrounds CSM project to 2028, citing the lack of near-term construction plans and anticipated retaining-wall costs. A late-added $17,500 pool improvement request—covering a diving board, locks, and a slushie machine—was described as supported by remaining donations. Staff projected about $810,063 remaining in Fund 205 at the end of 2027 after the proposed $609,000 in expenditures, and discussed possible future costs for redevelopment properties, industrial-park infrastructure and marketing, and consultants; no specific vendor contracts were awarded. The proposed tax rate was described as rising about 6%, subject to final assessment information.

The initial motion to publish the revised budget failed 5–3. Council then removed the $56,000 Mackie allocation and directed staff to develop an à la carte funding agreement (passed 7–1), and reduced Main Street funding by removing $10,000 for planters and $5,000 for a downtown strategic plan, leaving $25,000 for other Main Street activities. The final motion to accept the budget changes and authorize publication ahead of the November 24 public hearing passed 5–3. These decisions revise the city’s proposed economic-development spending and establish a service-based approach for future Mackie funding.