The fire spreads
The Marathon County Executive Committee on Thursday voted 6-2 against a Community For All resolution and, in doing so, may have thought it ended an agonized deliberation over inclusivity, diversity and systemic racism.
But it didn’t. Yes, it put out a chimney fire, but now the entire neighborhood is ablaze.
That’s because in saying no to the Community For All resolution (and five earlier drafts), the committee undermined the county’s own economic development plan, which calls for diversity and inclusion as a way to bring more workers, consumers and employers to a growth-hungry region.
The county’s 2016 comprehensive plan recognizes the county’s well known labor shortage and, as a fix, suggests standard remedies, including cultural attractions, better education, family friendly amenities and governmental policies that “ensure Marathon County is an open, inclusive, and diverse place to live and work.”
The committee signalled a departure from this economic development orthodoxy, and supervisor Craig McEwen, Weston, vice-chairman of the county board, explained why. “The political atmosphere has changed,” he said.
City of Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg attempted to have the Executive Committee keep faith with its comprehensive plan’s pro-growth philosophy. Like any good mayor, Rosenberg went to bat for her city’s business people who, wanting to expand, have for years complained about a shortage of labor, including highly trained workers.
The committee majority would have none of it. Supervisor Jacob Langenhahn said that he, following his constituents, not only disagreed with the Community For All resolution, but also with the very idea of county government growing the economic pie. Instead, committee members fell in line behind citizen Bruce Bohr, who theorized economic development as a zero-sum game. “The government can’t give something without taking it from somebody else,” he said succinctly.
The problem with the committee’s decision will be most acutely felt in five months when the county board will take up the 2022 budget and, most likely, will have to grapple with a multi-million dollar budget deficit. The budget gap is the result of the county trying to pay for standard, but ever-more expensive services with slowly growing property and sales taxes. The county board has faced this deficit issue before (agreeing to borrow money), but this year supervisors will know that, in their failure to promote growth, they will be, at least in part, responsible themselves for this budget gap.
There is no walking away from all of this. Demographics force a controversy. Between 2000 and 2019, the population of Marathon County grew from 125,834 to 135,692 (estimated), an increase of 9,858 people. Of this number, 5,330 were white. The rest were Asian, black, Hispanic and Native American. The percentage of white people in the county decreased slightly, from 93 to 90 percent, while some minority populations, such as blacks, tripled. The reality is that the county will, as its population ages, only continue to grow if it agrees to become more diverse.
Thursday’s three-hour meeting was a great, civil exchange, but, in part a farce. Opponents of the Community For All resolution accused its authors of promoting a Marxist redistribution of property, when, in fact, they were cheerleaders for capitalism and economic development.
But the question has been decided. The county will not actively discourage people of color from coming here, but it won’t hang a “welcome” sign at the county line, either. Going forward, the real question is how does the Executive Committee majority propose to balance the county budget, both this year and into the future, now that it has officially closed off a strategy for growth. Supervisors appeased a loud, organized coalition of people against the Community for All resolution. Now, what programs enjoyed by the rest of county residents do they wish to cut?
Editorial by Peter Weinschenk, The Record-Review
