Wausau Mayor Discusses Possible Transition to Manager-Council Form of Government

Friday, June 20th, 2025 -- 8:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) If Wausau Mayor Doug Diny has it his way, he will work himself out of a job.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, speaking with reporters before a tour of the progress on the Foundry on 3rd Development, Diny says he envisions moving the city to a Manger-Council form of Government.

“The Mayor would go away. There wouldn’t be one. By the time I’m done, I might likely be the last Mayor.” That would mean staff reporting directly to the City Manager, who would serve as the chief executive officer.

Residents would still elect Alders to the City Council, who would be responsible for hiring the manager and setting goals and objectives for them. Diny says the system is working in places like Eau Claire and other Class 2 cities, which have populations between 39,000 and 150,000. Oshkosh also operates under a version of the Manager-Council system.

The change would mean altering the City’s charter. Diny plans to assemble a task force to investigate the move and present findings to the City Council at a later date. He also plans to include a City Manager’s salary in the 2026 budget.

If Alders vote to approve the change, residents would have 60 days to request a binding referendum. “This could be a little ways out there, but the only way to flesh it out is to put it on the table and start talking about it,” added Diny. “It would go through the council, and there would be plenty of discussion on it.”

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