Dear editor,

I am Patrick Delaney, the third candidate who ran for mayor. The reason I ran for mayor was because we are clearly headed the wrong direction in Wisconsin Rapids.

Our city has not grown in the last 50 years because of our high property taxes as well as high utility costs. Just in the last eight years, our city debt has risen from $15,155,139 to almost double at $27,940,663.

During a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters, Zach Vruwink stated three times in under two minutes that he was saddened that he could not tax our citizens more and would happily do so if not for a pesky state law passed that limited how much a municipality can tax its own citizens.

He has openly stated that maybe a way to get more money out of us is to raise the utility costs. Our water costs are already more than double that of a municipality just a few miles away. And our property taxes are in the top 3 percent for the whole state of Wisconsin. We are higher than Wausau, Stevens Point, and 43 percent higher than our neighbor Plover.

Is two more years of Zach Vruwink what we need? Will taxing us more help bring new businesses to the area and bolster our economy? The answer is a definite “No.”

We need new leadership and I will be casting my vote for Shane Blaser. I am encouraging each and every citizen to do the same.

Patrick J. Delaney

Wisconsin Rapids