17.13 Removal of village, town, town sanitary district, school district, and technical college officers. Officers of towns, town sanitary districts, villages, school districts, and technical college districts may be removed as follows:
(1) Appointive officers. Except as provided in s. 60.30 (1e) (c) and (f), any appointive village, town, town sanitary district, school district and technical college district officer, by the officer or body that appointed him or her, at pleasure. Removal of any such officer by a body shall be by a majority vote of all the members thereof.
(2) Elective village officers. Any elective village officer by a majority vote of all the members of the village board, because of continued physical inability to perform the duties of office or gross neglect of duty.
(2m) Elective town officers. Any elective town officer by a majority vote of all the members of the town board, because of continued physical inability to perform the duties of office or gross neglect of duty.
(3) All officers. Any village, town, town sanitary district, school district or technical college district officer, elective or appointive, including those embraced within subs. (1), (2), and (2m), by the judge of the circuit court of the circuit wherein the village, town, town sanitary district, school district or technical college district is situated, for cause.
History: 1971 c. 154; 1977 c. 449; 1983 a. 532; 1993 a. 399; 1995 a. 34, 225; 1999 a. 9; 2007 a. 20; 2019 a. 140.
If a statute provides that a public officer, including VTAE (technical college) board members, serves at pleasure but is appointed for a term, the officer may be summarily dismissed during the term. 62 Atty. Gen. 97.
A town board was restrained from discharging its police chief until the issue of impermissible consideration of the chief's political activities was resolved. Kuhlmann v. Bloomfield Township, 521 F. Supp. 1242 (1981).
Structure Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 17 - Resignations, vacancies, and removals from office.
17.01 - Resignations to whom made; when effective.
17.015 - Municipal judge: multiple resignations.
17.02 - Notice of resignations.
17.03 - Vacancies, how caused.
17.035 - Vacancies; military leaves.
17.05 - Governor may declare vacancies.
17.06 - Removal of state officers; impeachment; address.
17.07 - Removals; legislative and appointive state officers.
17.08 - Suspension of receiver of moneys.
17.09 - Removal of elective county officers.
17.10 - Removal of appointive county officers.
17.11 - Suspension of district attorney or sheriff.
17.12 - Removal and suspension of city officers.
17.14 - Removal; assessors; boards of review; county boards; procedure.
17.15 - Removals; other officers.
17.16 - Removals; definition; procedure; disqualification.
17.18 - Vacancies, U.S. senator and representative in congress; how filled.
17.19 - Vacancies, elective state offices; how filled.
17.20 - Vacancies in appointive state offices; how filled; terms.
17.21 - Vacancies in elective county offices; how filled; term.
17.22 - Vacancies in appointive county offices; how filled.
17.23 - Vacancies in city offices; how filled.
17.24 - Vacancies in village offices.
17.245 - New city, village or town office, filling.
17.25 - Vacancies in town offices; how filled.
17.26 - Vacancies in school boards; how filled.
17.27 - Vacancies in other offices; how filled.
17.275 - Records of applicants for elective positions.
17.28 - When officers may hold office.