The Marshfield Common Council cut $71,000 in proposed economic development funding during a special budget meeting on Thursday, Oct. 29, citing concern that the city's reserves for that work could shrink sharply without new revenue.
Council members removed a $56,000 allocation for the Marshfield Area Chamber Foundation, most of it tied to a business development director position, and voted 7-1 to instead pursue a service-specific agreement for work such as business recruitment and retention. Main Street Marshfield's funding was reduced from $40,000 to $25,000, keeping money for downtown building revitalization grants while removing allocations for planters and strategic planning.
City Administrator Steve Barg told the council the economic development fund, known as Fund 205, is expected to hold about $1.93 million at the end of 2026 but was projected to fall to about $810,000 by the end of 2027 before the cuts. He said utility dividends that helped the fund in the past, including about $882,000 in 2025, are not expected to resume for several years.
Barg also pointed to possible future costs, including environmental work tied to the former Weinbrenner property, the Baltus building and the current police department building, which he estimated could approach $100,000 combined, along with marketing for the city's roughly 120-acre certified industrial site in Yellowstone Industrial Park.
After an initial motion failed, the council voted 5-3 to authorize publication of the revised 2027 budget. The action is not final adoption; a public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 24.
