Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 61 - Villages.
61.34 - Powers of village board.

61.34 Powers of village board.
(1) General grant. Except as otherwise provided by law, the village board shall have the management and control of the village property, finances, highways, streets, navigable waters, and the public service, and shall have power to act for the government and good order of the village, for its commercial benefit and for the health, safety, welfare and convenience of the public, and may carry its powers into effect by license, regulation, suppression, borrowing, taxation, special assessment, appropriation, fine, imprisonment, and other necessary or convenient means. The powers hereby conferred shall be in addition to all other grants and shall be limited only by express language.
(2) Cooperation with other municipalities. The village board, in behalf of the village, may join with other villages or cities in a cooperative arrangement for executing any power or duty in order to attain greater economy or efficiency, including joint employment of appointive officers and employees.
(3) Acquisition and disposal of property.
(a) Except as provided in par. (b), the village board may acquire property, real or personal, within or outside the village, for parks, libraries, recreation, beautification, streets, water systems, sewage or waste disposal, harbors, improvement of watercourses, public grounds, vehicle parking areas, and for any other public purpose; may acquire real property within or contiguous to the village, by means other than condemnation, for industrial sites; may improve and beautify the same; may construct, own, lease and maintain buildings on such property for instruction, recreation, amusement and other public purposes; and may sell and convey such property. Condemnation shall be as provided by ch. 32.
(b) The village board may not use the power of condemnation to acquire property for the purpose of establishing or extending a recreational trail; a bicycle way, as defined in s. 340.01 (5s); a bicycle lane, as defined in s. 340.01 (5e); or a pedestrian way, as defined in s. 346.02 (8) (a).
(3m) Acquisition of easements and property rights. Confirming all powers granted to the village board and in furtherance thereof, the board is expressly authorized to acquire by gift, purchase or condemnation under ch. 32 any and all property rights in lands or waters, including rights of access and use, negative or positive easements, restrictive covenants, covenants running with the land, scenic easements and any rights for use of property of any nature whatsoever, however denominated, which may be lawfully acquired for the benefit of the public or for any public purpose, including the exercise of powers granted under ss. 61.35 and 62.23; and may sell and convey such easements or property rights when no longer needed for public use or protection.
(4) Village finances. The village board may levy and provide for the collection of taxes and special assessments; may refund any tax or special assessment paid, or any part thereof, when satisfied that the same was unjust or illegal; and generally may manage the village finances. The village board may loan money to any school district located within the village or within which the village is wholly or partially located in such sums as are needed by such district to meet the immediate expenses of operating the schools thereof, and the board of the district may borrow money from such village accordingly and give its note therefor. No such loan shall be made to extend beyond August 30 next following the making thereof or in an amount exceeding one-half of the estimated receipts for such district as certified by the state superintendent of public instruction and the local school clerk. The rate of interest on any such loan shall be determined by the village board.
(5) Construction of powers. For the purpose of giving to villages the largest measure of self-government in accordance with the spirit of article XI, section 3, of the constitution it is hereby declared that this chapter shall be liberally construed in favor of the rights, powers and privileges of villages to promote the general welfare, peace, good order and prosperity of such villages and the inhabitants thereof.
History: 1983 a. 192; 1987 a. 395; 1995 a. 27, 378; 1997 a. 27; 2017 a. 59.
Cross-reference: See s. 118.105 for control of traffic on school premises.
When a municipality's power to contract is improperly or irregularly exercised and the municipality receives a benefit under the contract, it is estopped from asserting the invalidity of the contract. Village of McFarland v. Town of Dunn, 82 Wis. 2d 469, 263 N.W.2d 167 (1978).
A village was authorized under ss. 30.77 (3) and 61.34 (1) to enact an ordinance granting exclusive temporary use of a portion of a lake for public water exhibition licensees. State v. Village of Lake Delton, 93 Wis. 2d 78, 286 N.W.2d 622 (Ct. App. 1979).
There is a 4-part test in evaluating whether a municipality may regulate a matter of state-wide concern: 1) whether the legislature has expressly withdrawn the power of municipalities to act; 2) whether the ordinance logically conflicts with the state legislation; 3) whether the ordinance defeats the purpose of the state legislation; or 4) whether the ordinance goes against the spirit of the state legislation. Anchor Savings and Loan Association v. Madison EOC, 120 Wis. 2d 391, 355 N.W.2d 234 (1984).
The delegation of village powers to a non-governmental entity is discussed. Save Elkhart Lake v. Elkhart Lake Village, 181 Wis. 2d 778, 512 N.W.2d 202 (Ct. App. 1993).
The state regulatory scheme for tobacco sales preempts municipalities from adopting regulations that are not in strict conformity with those of the state. U.S. Oil, Inc. v. City of Fond du Lac, 199 Wis. 2d 333, 544 N.W.2d 589 (Ct. App. 1995), 95-0213.
It was not a violation of this section, s. 236.45, or the public purpose doctrine for a municipality to assume the dual role of subdivider of property it owned and reviewer of the plat under ch. 236. Town of Beloit v. Rock County, 2001 WI App 256, 249 Wis. 2d 88, 637 N.W.2d 71, 00-1231.
Affirmed on other grounds, 2003 WI 8, 259 Wis. 2d 37, 657 N.W.2d 344, 00-1231.
One who deals with a municipality does so at his or her own risk and may be subject to any provisions of law that might prevent him or her from being paid by a municipality even though the services are rendered. Unless the power to bind the municipality financially has been specifically delegated, the only entity with the statutory authority to contract is the municipality. Holzbauer v. Safway Steel Products, Inc. 2005 WI App 240, 288 Wis. 2d 250, 711 N.W.2d 672, 04-2058.
The line distinguishing general police power regulation from zoning ordinances is far from clear. The question of whether a particular enactment constitutes a zoning ordinance is often a matter of degree. Broad statements of the purposes of zoning and the purposes of an ordinance are not helpful in distinguishing a zoning ordinance from an ordinance enacted pursuant to non-zoning police power. The statutorily enumerated purposes of zoning are not the exclusive domain of zoning regulation. A more specific and analytically helpful formulation of the purpose of zoning, at least in the present case, is to separate incompatible land uses. Multiple factors are considered and discussed. Zwiefelhofer v. Town of Cooks Valley, 2012 WI 7, 338 Wis. 2d 488, 809 N.W.2d 362, 10-2398.
State statutory enabling legislation is required to authorize enactment of typical rent control ordinances. 62 Atty. Gen. 276.
Local units of government may not create and accumulate unappropriated surplus funds. However, a local unit of government may maintain reasonable amounts necessary in the exercise of sound business principles to meet the immediate cash flow needs of the municipality during the current budgetary period or to accumulate needed capital in non-lapsing funds to finance specifically identified future capital expenditures. 76 Atty. Gen. 77.
Article VIII, section 5 restricts the state from levying taxes to create a surplus having no public purpose. Although the constitutional provision does not apply directly to municipalities, the same limitation applies indirectly to them because the state cannot delegate more power than it has. 76 Atty. Gen. 77.
Conflicts between state statutes and local ordinances in Wisconsin. 1975 WLR 840.

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