Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for October 15, 2025

Greetings, District 6 Neighbors,
We’re in the middle of another full council week, with the library board meeting yesterday as the only official meeting on the city calendar.
The library board action items included approving the bill register, a budget amendment to record various donations, and approval of the membership agreement with the Outagamie Waupaca Library System (OWLS) for 2026-2028. This agreement allows cardholders to check out materials in any member library – a benefit I certainly used when I worked in Waupaca.
More big news was announced for the library in recent weeks. The Appleton Public Library was named as the Wisconsin Library Association’s Library of the Year for 2025, and staff member Maureen Ward was awarded the City Star Award for Excellence in Service Delivery at the Common Council meeting on October 1.
Mayor Woodford will begin the meeting with six proclamations, most of which were issued at events around the city recently.
  • National Teen Driver Safety Week
  • Dysautonomia Awareness Month
  • Coming Out Day
  • White Cane Awareness Day
  • Mental Health Day
  • Domestic Violence Awareness Month
We will also get an update from the City’s Poet Laureate and an update on vehicle noise and traffic safety.
I expect that a couple of items will be separated for individual votes and discussion.

  • Small Business Saturday free parking – Appleton Downtown, Inc. agreed to contribute $1600 to offset lost revenue for free metered parking. The parking utility is able to keep the ramps open for free parking. Lost ramp revenue for a Saturday in the fall is estimated at $2000, but the members of the Municipal Services Committee agreed that the benefit to downtown businesses exceeded that cost. The representative from ADI noted that Small Business Saturday is the largest sales day of the year for some of our downtown businesses.
  • Revision to the state/municipal agreement for the design and construction of the Olde Oneida Street Bridge over the power canal. I wrote about this in the lead-up to the Municipal Services Committee meeting last week. It’s an unfortunate consequence of the cost of everything that the city’s share of this project has increased by over $1.5 million. As I noted last week, the bridge needs to be replaced, and the city loses ALL state funding if the project is not completed by 2028.
  • Wastewater rate increase of 4%. As noted last week, utilities are required to be self-supporting (no property tax funds go to utilities), and the increase is needed to fund operations and necessary capital improvements. The average ratepayer will see a $6 per quarter increase.
  • Providence Trail drainage study. The Utilities Committee voted to approve the measures recommended by the Department of Public Works:

Alternative 3: ROW/Easement & Lot Improvements
    • 164 Lineal Feet of Yard Drain Lead Upsize – 1 Easement South of Fallcreek Lane
    • 460 Lineal Feet of New 24” Storm Sewer – Providence Ave to Apple Creek
    • Add Dry Pond Flood Storage South of Apple Creek Trail
    • Replace up to 14 Yard Drain Inlet Castings
    • Private improvements at discretion of homeowners
    • Estimated Cost to Stormwater Utility: $330,000
I wanted to remind you again about the opportunities to express your views on the city budget, which is available here. The public listening session will be held on Monday, October 20 at 6:00 p.m. in the Cornerstone Conference Room at the Appleton Public Library. The Budget Workshop, or Budget Saturday, which is formally a meeting of the Finance Committee, takes place on November 1 at 8:00 a.m. in Council Chambers on the 6th floor of City Hall. The Finance Committee will make its official recommendation on approval of the budget before the public hearing on the budget, which will take place on Wednesday, November 5 at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. The formal budget adoption vote will take place on November 12 in a special session of the full council.
I am almost finished with my review of the proposed 2026 budget. I’ll be sending my questions to department heads in the next couple of days. As the mayor noted in his presentation to the council on October 1, there are no major structural changes in the proposed budget. While net new construction increased 1.7% in Appleton, that did not keep pace with inflation. The city is a purchaser of goods and services like any other business, and the cost of those goods and services has increased steadily. Health insurance costs have increased despite programs designed to maintain high quality coverage for employees while keeping costs in check. The city’s other insurance costs have increased as well. We have to balance property taxes and fees for service with maintaining infrastructure and service levels. This budget calls for a 3% merit raise for non-represented employees (fire, police and Valley Transit are represented by unions and negotiate contracts separately) and keeps the number of city employees stable at 652.81 (counts part time employees). The budget proposes a property tax increase of 1.6%, or $6.95 per $1000 in home valuation. This amounts to about $29 for a home valued at $225,000. This is for the city’s share of taxes – the total tax bill includes the school district tax, county tax and Fox Valley Technical College taxes. Looking at my tax bill from 2024, the city’s portion of the total tax was about 44% (before the credits).
I want to invite anyone who is free tomorrow morning to attend the official dedication of Veterans Memorial Park – Thursday, October 16 at 9:00 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial next to the Scheig Center.
Finally, for all the photographers out there – the city is holding a Fall Tree Photo contest. Submissions are open from October 10 through November 1, and the winning photo will be featured on the city’s social media and website. Send your best shots to communications@appletonwi.gov and include – your name, your e-mail address and photo title or location (optional). All photos must be original, high-resolution images and taken in Appleton or the surrounding Fox Valley region. There will be public voting from November 5-8, and the winner will be announced on November 11. “By submitting your photo, you grant the City of Appleton permission to share it—with credit—on our website and social media channels.”
Enjoy the rest of your week and let’s hope for a massive Brewer turnaround on the road.


Denise

 

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