Wausau is asking its stakeholders to weigh in on how city government should be structured, through a survey that closes Nov. 17.

The survey follows a Sept. 15 town hall hosted by Mayor Doug Diny on an administrator form of government, and a recent Finance Committee vote that reclassified a $150,000 budget line item Diny had proposed for the position, reserving that funding instead for a long-discussed comprehensive audit of city finances.

It is not the first time the idea has come up. An interim mayor raised a study of the position in 1998, and in an April 2015 advisory referendum, city voters turned the idea down by 279 votes, 3,527 to 3,248.

Survey respondents are asked about quality of life in Wausau, how familiar they are with the current structure, what they want from city operations, and whether they would support a change, along with any advantages or concerns they see. Diny said the discussion is about improving operations while keeping elected officials in charge of direction and accountability.

State law offers two main routes to an administrator-style government, under Chapter 62 for a city administrator and Chapter 64 for a city manager. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh public administration professor Michael Ford told the September town hall that administrator setups are the more common choice, and that in most of them the mayor's role becomes part time, focused largely on vetoes and community outreach. The survey can be taken online, on paper at City Hall, 407 Grant St., or by calling 715-261-6801.