Be wary of Wausau’s “affordable housing” red herring

Dear editor,

Affordable housing seems to be the title for many of the city’s decisions these days, but is “affordability” truly happening? The Wausau East High Apartments within District 4 of our wonderful city provide a great example for caution. The apartments were created under the guise of affordable housing but only for 15 years. As the rent control expired, the rents went to market rate, and many occupants were forced to move because they could no longer afford the new rents. As an individual who moved every few years for the military, I can attest to the challenges and trauma involved for families. But in this case, the sting seems worse as the occupants left only because they could no longer afford to stay.

Fast forward to recent days, and the council is at it again, trying to subsidize rents. In October 2025, the council approved $750,000 for the new owners of the building at 11 Scott Street to develop housing and keep rents artificially low for the first seven years. They did this despite the fact that the new owners of the building purchased the property at a deep discount ($250,000 for a building assessed at over $7 million), giving the developers plenty of equity to finance the conversion to apartments.

When is enough, enough for the taxpayers of Wausau? Beyond selling at a discount, plenty of incentives for developers exist that don’t require additional spending on subsidies. Wisconsin’s Act 18 provides interest-free loans for $1 million or 20% of total project costs (which should equate to roughly $2 million for the Scott Street project) through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) for converting properties into affordable or senior housing. On top of state incentives, our city can leverage fee waivers and tax abatement for properties that maintain affordability.

Instead, the city council approved this subsidy even with the knowledge that roughly 25% of our property tax money will be used to pay down debt in 2026. There’s an adage – “when you’re in a hole, the first thing you do is Stop Digging!” Subsidies like these waste the taxpayers’ money and only create a temporary façade of affordable housing.

We need to make Wausau an affordable community for all, but to do so, the city council must stop spending taxpayer funds with reckless abandon.

Vylius (“V”) Leskys, Wausau

Vylius Leskys is a retired U.S. Army Colonel who served in the Special Forces as a Green Beret. After his military career, he founded Veteran for Veterans Law, LLC to help disabled veterans, and he continues to work pro bono as a VA Accredited Attorney. He serves as a Commissioner on the Wausau Police and Fire Commission, contributing to local public safety oversight while running as a candidate for City Council District 4. For more information on V’s policy positions, visit: www.facebook.com/VforWausauD4