The Baraboo Common Council approved Tuesday night the city's budget for next year, including measures that will offer a reprieve to the shared-ride taxi service and city pool. Both were facing potential cutbacks given the 2025 city budget.

In recent weeks, the Common Council faced a budget shortfall to contend with. Earlier this month, the majority of Baraboo residents voted "no" to an operational referendum to maintain the city's current level of facility operation and services. Without the referendum money, however, city officials proposed cuts to several positions and services like the shared-ride taxi and the pool.

Many Baraboo community members attended the meeting Tuesday to voice their support to maintain the taxi service.

Baraboo resident Jeanna Kosharek said without the taxi service, she has no way to leave her home.

"I can't go to the grocery stores or the pharmacies or anything else without the taxi. That's the only way I get around," Kosharek said. "I'm homebound, if there's no taxi."

With the future of the ride-share service at stake, the SSM Health St. Clare Foundation announced it would offer the city a $50,000 grant to cover about half of the taxi's 2025 needed funds. St. Clare Foundation director Julia Randles said the organization wants to help create healthier communities.

"We want to be part of the solution in helping to find ways to be creative— to help solve problems, and we want to see the taxi service continue," Randles said. "This was kind of a make-or-break moment for our taxi service, so to be able to provide some immediate help while we then work to collaborate and create the long term solution for what this looks like.”

Randles said the grant is funded through earned investment income, not from donor dollars.

The city council moved to accept the grant, in addition to funds from the Public Transit Assistance Program offered by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. City officials said they plan to apply for the Federal Transit Administration formula grants for rural areas as well to help raise the funds.

Together, these funds will allow the shared-ride taxi service to remain operational for 2025.

Additionally, the city pool will reopen for the 2025 season if the community can raise the remaining money needed. The approved budget reallocated city funds from the parks amenities budget to help maintain the pool and complete necessary repairs for the upcoming year, in addition to community fundraising.

Community members who attended the meeting to voice support for the pool said Baraboo residents have already raised $4,000 to support the opening this summer.

Blake McCoyArticles

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