November 4, 2025
Thank you for this opportunity to address the Board. I am speaking on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Appleton-Fox Cities.
I have been able to attend or review the audio files of all the budget workshops, as well as the budget document itself. I am looking forward to the new livestream and video recordings of board meetings which will make it even easier for Grand Chute residents to follow Town Board deliberations. As an organization dedicated to promoting active citizen participation in government, the League applauds this additional service.
We would also like to commend the Board for undertaking a town-wide housing survey. An action plan is being developed with an eye to increasing the number of single-family lots which are in short supply everywhere. In addition, the development of a strategic plan is a very positive step. I was able to participate in one listening session with other Grand Chute residents and found it to be very productive and professionally moderated.
This budget reflects careful fiscal management in an environment when shared revenue and levy limits make it difficult for local governments to make ends meet. Some of the highlights that I noticed are as follows:
According to surveys conducted by staff, Grand Chute ranks below average in staffing in several departments compared to similar-sized Wisconsin municipalities. A 3.5% salary increase for non-union employees was approved which should help make the Town more competitive. All the additional staff requests were approved, except for three additional fire fighter paramedics. The Town Board will prudently revisit that request mid-year 2026 when more data on the cost effectiveness of ambulance services is available.
The purchase of Granicus software used by Appleton and Greenville will provide greater transparency into Town government meetings, agendas, minutes, and supervisor votes for the public. This will be implemented in early 2026 and integrated into a redesign of the Town's decade-old website. These improvements will make the website more user friendly for the public.
With four elections slated in 2026, the purchase of a back-up server for the Badger Books will help to ensure efficient and accurate election results and prevent the situation that occurred last year when the server failed, and election workers had to work until the early morning hours to tally ballots by hand.
The concern over under-funding for road improvements persists because the Town will not be able to keep up with its maintenance schedule with an annual budget of $4.5 million.
We thank all the Supervisors and the professional staff for their time and dedication in service to the citizens of Grand Chute.
Respectfully,
Linda Bjella
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan grassroots political organization whose mission is to empower voters and defend democracy. We purposefully engage with local governments to improve the quality of life in our community.