Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 62 - Cities.
62.09 - Officers.

62.09 Officers.
(1) Enumeration and change.
(a) The officers shall be a mayor, treasurer, clerk, comptroller, attorney, engineer, one or more assessors unless the city is assessed by a county assessor under s. 70.99, one or more constables as determined by the common council, a local health officer, as defined in s. 250.01 (5), or local board of health, as defined in s. 250.01 (3), street commissioner, board of police and fire commissioners except in cities where not applicable, chief of police except in a city where it is not applicable, chief of the fire department except in a city where it is not applicable, chief of a combined protective services department except in a city where it is not applicable, board of public works, 2 alderpersons from each aldermanic district, and such other officers or boards as are created by law or by the council. If one alderperson from each aldermanic district is provided under s. 66.0211 (1), the council may, by ordinance adopted by a two-thirds vote of all its members and approved by the electors at a general or special election, provide that there shall be 2 alderpersons from each aldermanic district. If a city creates a combined protective services department under s. 62.13 (2e) (a) 1., it shall create the office of chief of such a department and shall abolish the offices of chief of police and chief of the fire department.
(b) The council, by a two-thirds vote, may dispense with the offices of street commissioner, engineer, comptroller, constable and board of public works, and provide that the duties thereof be performed by other officers or board, by the council or a committee thereof. The council may, by charter ordinance, adopted pursuant to s. 66.0101, provide that there shall be one alderperson from each aldermanic district. Any office dispensed with under this paragraph may be recreated in like manner, and any office created under this section may be dispensed with in like manner.
(c) A corporation or an independent contractor may be appointed as the city assessor. The corporation or independent contractor so appointed shall designate the person responsible for the assessment. The designee shall file the official oath under s. 19.01, and sign the affidavit of the assessor attached to the assessment roll under s. 70.49. No person may be designated by any corporation or independent contractor unless he or she has been granted the appropriate certification under s. 73.09. For purposes of this subsection, “independent contractor" means a person who either is under contract to furnish appraisal and assessment services or is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, business or profession in which the services are offered to the general public.
(d) No person may assume the office of city assessor unless certified by the department of revenue under s. 73.09 as qualified to perform the functions of the office of assessor. If a person who has not been so certified is elected to the office, the office shall be vacant and the appointing authority shall fill the vacancy from a list of persons so certified by the department of revenue.
(e) The office of constable is abolished in 1st class cities. The duties of the constable in such cities shall be performed by the sheriff of the county in which the city is located.
(2) Eligibility.
(a) No person shall be elected by the people to a city office who is not at the time of election a citizen of the United States and of this state, and an elector of the city, and in case of an aldermanic district office, of the aldermanic district, and actually residing therein.
(d) An appointee by the mayor requiring to be confirmed by the council who shall be rejected by the council shall be ineligible for appointment to the same office for one year thereafter.
(3) Manner of choosing.
(a) The mayor and alderpersons shall be elected by the voters.
(b) The other officers except as provided in s. 62.13 shall be selected by one of the following methods:
1. Appointment by the mayor.
2. Appointment by the mayor subject to confirmation by the council.
3. Appointment by the council.
4. Election by the voters.
5. Selection under any of the above methods, the selection to be made from an eligible list established under s. 66.0509.
6. Such other officers shall continue to be selected in the manner prevailing on April 15, 1939, provided one of the above plans was in force on that date. Such method shall be continued until changed in the manner provided by s. 66.0101.
(c) Any city may also proceed pursuant to s. 66.0101 to consolidate any such other office or offices.
(d) Whenever a city is newly created the officers other than those specified by par. (a) shall be appointed by the mayor until provided otherwise pursuant to par. (b).
(e) Appointments by the mayor shall be subject to confirmation by the council unless otherwise provided by law.
(4) Qualifying.
(a) Every person elected or appointed to any office shall take and file the official oath within 10 days after notice of election or appointment, except that elected assessors shall take and file the official oath within 5 days before June 1.
(b) If the council requires them to do so, the treasurer, comptroller, chief of police and such others as the statutes or the council may direct, shall execute and file an official bond in such sum as the council may determine, with 2 or more sureties or such bond may be furnished by a surety company as provided by s. 632.17 (2), or the council may provide a schedule or blanket bond that includes any or all of these officials. The council may at any time require new and additional bonds of an officer. All official bonds must be approved by the mayor, and when so approved shall be filed within 10 days after the officer executing the same shall have been notified of election or appointment. Official bonds filed with the city clerk shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose. If the council does not require any or all of these officials to execute and file an official bond, the council shall obtain a dishonesty insurance policy or other appropriate insurance policy that covers such officials, in an amount determined by the council, in lieu of the bond requirement.
(c) When an appointive officer has filed the oath, and bond if required, the clerk shall issue to the officer a certificate of appointment. If the appointment is to a board or commission the appointee shall file the certificate with the secretary thereof.
(d) A city may pay the cost of an official bond furnished by an officer of the city, pursuant to law or any rules or regulations requiring the bond, if the officer furnishes a bond with a surety company or companies authorized to do business in this state. The cost of the bond furnished by the officer may not exceed the current rate of premium per year on the amount of the bond or obligation executed by the surety. The cost of the bond shall be charged to the fund appropriated and set up in the budget for the department, board, commission or other body, the officer of which is required to furnish a bond.
(5) Terms; substitutes.
(a) The regular term of office of mayor and alderperson shall commence on the 3rd Tuesday of April in the year of their election. The regular terms of other officers shall commence on May 1 succeeding their election unless otherwise provided by ordinance or statute.
(b) Except as otherwise specially provided the regular term of elective officers shall be 2 years. A different tenure for such officers or any of them may be provided by charter ordinance.
(c) The council may, by a record vote of two-thirds of all the members, by ordinance adopted and published previous to publication of the notice of the election at which alderpersons are to be elected, provide for a division of the alderpersons into 2 classes, one class to be elected for 2 years and the other for 4 years, and thereafter the term of alderpersons shall be 4 years.
(d) If any officer other than an alderperson is incapacitated or absent from any cause the common council may appoint some person to discharge the officer's duties until the officer returns or until such disability is removed. If an alderperson is temporarily incapacitated because of physical or mental disability, the common council may appoint a person to discharge the alderperson's duties until the disability is removed.
(e) Persons serving in appointive offices shall serve until their respective successors are appointed and qualify, unless otherwise provided by ordinance.
(6) Compensation.
(a) Salaries shall be paid the mayor or alderpersons only when ordered by a vote of three-fourths of all the members of the council.
(am)
1. In this paragraph, “ compensation" means a salary, a per diem compensation for each day or part of a day necessarily devoted to the service of the city and the discharge of duties, or a combination of salary and per diem compensation.
2. Except as provided in subd. 3., and subject to par. (a), the compensation for an elective city office shall be established before the earliest time for filing nomination papers for the office. After that time, no change may be made in the compensation for the office that applies to the term of office for which the deadline applies. The compensation established for an elective office remains in effect for ensuing terms unless changed.
3. In a newly incorporated city, the compensation for an elective office may be established during the first term of office.
(c) Salaries shall be paid at the end of each month unless the council shall at any regular meeting by ordinance order payment at more frequent intervals.
(7) General provisions.
(a) The corporate authority of the city shall be vested in the mayor and common council.
(b) Officers shall have generally the powers and duties prescribed for like officers of towns and villages, except as otherwise provided, and such powers and duties as are prescribed by law and except as to the mayor shall perform such duties as shall be required of them by the council. Officers whose powers and duties are not enumerated in this subchapter shall have such powers and duties as are prescribed by law for like officers or as are directed by the council.
(c) All officers and departments may make the necessary rules for the conduct of their duties and incidental proceedings.
(d) The general laws for the punishment of bribery, misdemeanors and corruption in office shall apply to city officers.
(e) Whenever a city official in that official's official capacity is proceeded against or obliged to proceed before any court, board or commission, to defend or maintain his or her official position, or because of some act arising out of the performance of that official's official duties, and that official has prevailed in such proceeding, or the council has ordered the proceeding discontinued, the council may provide for payment to such official such sum as it sees fit, to reimburse the official for the expenses reasonably incurred for costs and attorney fees.
(8) Mayor.
(a) The mayor shall be the chief executive officer. The mayor shall take care that city ordinances and state laws are observed and enforced and that all city officers and employees discharge their duties.
(b) The mayor shall from time to time give the council such information and recommend such measures as the mayor may deem advantageous to the city. When present the mayor shall preside at the meetings of the council.
(c) The mayor shall have the veto power as to all acts of the council, except such as to which it is expressly or by necessary implication otherwise provided. All such acts shall be submitted to the mayor by the clerk and shall be in force upon approval evidenced by the mayor's signature, or upon failing to approve or disapprove within 5 days, which fact shall be certified thereon by the clerk. If the mayor disapproves the mayor's objections shall be filed with the clerk, who shall present them to the council at its next meeting. A two-thirds vote of all the members of the council shall then make the act effective notwithstanding the objections of the mayor.
(d) Except in cities that have adopted s. 62.13 (6), the mayor shall be the head of the fire and police departments, and where there is no board of police and fire commissioners shall appoint all police officers, and the mayor may, in any city, appoint security personnel to serve without pay, and in case of riot or other emergency, appoint as many special police officers as may be necessary.
(e) The council at its first meeting subsequent to the regular election and qualification of new members, shall after organization, choose from its members a president, who, in the absence of the mayor, shall preside at meetings of the council, and during the absence or inability of the mayor shall have the power and duties of the mayor, except that the president shall not have power to approve an act of the council which the mayor has disapproved by filing objections with the clerk. The president shall when so officiating be styled “Acting Mayor".
(9) Treasurer.
(a) Except as provided in s. 66.0608, the treasurer shall collect all city, school, county, and state taxes, receive all moneys belonging to the city or which by law are directed to be paid to the treasurer, and pay over the money in the treasurer's hands according to law.
(b) The treasurer shall keep a detailed account in suitable books in such manner as the council shall direct. The treasurer shall keep in a separate book an account of all fees received. The treasurer's books shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection.
(c) The treasurer shall each month at the first meeting of the council and as often as it shall require make to the council a verified report of moneys received and disbursed and of the condition of the treasury. Ten days before each regular city election the treasurer shall file in the clerk's office a full and minute verified report of moneys received and disbursed, tax certificates, vouchers and other things of pecuniary value in the treasurer's custody, and of all transactions of the treasurer's office from the date of the preceding like report.
(d) The treasurer may receive no compensation except the salary fixed by the council. If the treasurer sells property for the payment of taxes, the treasurer may also receive any fee a constable would receive for this service. The treasurer shall deposit all other fees he or she collects into the treasury at the end of each day.
(e) Except as provided in s. 66.0608, the treasurer shall deposit immediately upon receipt thereof the funds of the city in the name of the city in the public depository designated by the council. Such deposit may be in either a demand deposit or in a time deposit, maturing in not more than one year. Failure to comply with the provisions hereof shall be prima facie grounds for removal from office. When the money is so deposited, the treasurer and the treasurer's bonders shall not be liable for such losses as are defined by s. 34.01 (2). The interest arising therefrom shall be paid into the city treasury.
(f) The treasurer may in writing, filed in the office of the clerk, appoint a deputy who shall act under the treasurer's direction and in the treasurer's absence or disability, or in case of a vacancy shall perform the treasurer's duties. The deputy shall receive such compensation as the council shall provide. The acts of such deputy shall be covered by official bond as the council shall direct.
(10) Comptroller.
(a) The comptroller shall monthly report in writing to the council at its first meeting the condition of outstanding contracts and of each of the city funds and claims payable therefrom, and shall each year on or before October first file with the clerk a detailed statement of the receipts and disbursements on account of each fund of the city and of each aldermanic district or other financial district during the preceding fiscal year, specifying the source of each receipt and the object of each disbursement, and also an estimate of the receipts and disbursements for the current fiscal year.
(b) The comptroller shall each month and as often as reported examine the treasurer's accounts as reported and as kept, and attach thereto a report to the council as to their correctness and as to any violation by the treasurer of the treasurer's duty in the manner of keeping accounts or disbursing moneys.
(c) The comptroller shall examine each claim presented against the city, and determine whether it is in proper form, and if it is on contract, whether authorized and correct. For these purposes the comptroller may swear witnesses and take testimony. If the comptroller finds no objection the comptroller shall mark his or her approval on the claim. If the comptroller disapproves in whole or in part, the comptroller shall report the reasons for that disapproval to the council. The comptroller shall in all cases report evidence taken. No claim shall be considered by the council or be referred to a committee until it has been so examined and reported on.
(f) The comptroller shall countersign all contracts with the city if the necessary funds have been provided to pay the liability that may be incurred thereunder, and no contract shall be valid until so countersigned.
(g) The comptroller shall each year make a list of all certificates for the payment of which special taxes are to be levied, in time for the same to be inserted in the tax roll, and certify its correctness.
(h) The comptroller may in writing, filed in the office of the clerk, appoint a deputy who shall act under the comptroller's direction and in the comptroller's absence or disability, or in case of a vacancy shall perform the comptroller's duties. The deputy shall receive such compensation as the council provides. The acts of such deputy shall be covered by official bond as the council directs.
(11) Clerk.
(a) The clerk shall have the care and custody of the corporate seal and all papers and records of the city.
(b) The clerk shall attend the meetings of the council and keep a full record of its proceedings.
(c) The clerk shall enter at length, immediately after it goes into effect, every ordinance in an “ordinance book," with proof of publication, date of passage and page of journal where final vote is recorded. The clerk shall keep a record of all licenses and permits granted and record all bonds, in appropriate books.
(d) The clerk shall draw and sign all orders upon the treasury in the manner provided by s. 66.0607, and keep a full account thereof in appropriate books. The clerk shall carefully preserve all receipts filed with the clerk.
(e) The clerk shall keep an accurate account with the treasurer and charge the treasurer with all tax lists presented for collection and with all moneys paid into the treasury.
(f) The clerk shall keep all papers and records in the clerk's office open to inspection at all reasonable hours subject to subch. II of ch. 19.
(h) The clerk shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations under these statutes.
(i) The clerk may in writing filed in the clerk's office appoint a deputy, who shall act under the clerk's direction, and in the clerk's absence or disability or in case of a vacancy shall perform the clerk's duties, and shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations. The deputy shall receive such compensation as the council shall provide. The clerk and the clerk's sureties shall be liable on the clerk's official bond for the acts of such deputy.
(j) The clerk shall notify the treasurer of the county in which the city is located, by February 20, of the proportion of property tax revenue and of the credits under s. 79.10 that is to be disbursed by the taxation district treasurer to each taxing jurisdiction located in the city.
(k) The clerk shall stamp or endorse street trade permits at the request of an employer under s. 103.25 (3m) (b).
(L) The clerk shall stamp or endorse traveling sales crew worker permits at the request of an employer under s. 103.34 (11) (c).
(12) Attorney.
(a) The attorney shall conduct all the law business in which the city is interested.
(c) The attorney shall when requested by city officers give written legal opinions, which shall be filed with the clerk.
(d) The attorney shall draft ordinances, bonds and other instruments as may be required by city officers.
(e) The attorney shall examine the tax and assessment rolls and other tax proceedings, and advise the proper city officers in regard thereto.
(f) The attorney may appoint an assistant, who shall have power to perform the attorney's duties and for whose acts the attorney shall be responsible to the city. Such assistant shall receive no compensation from the city, unless previously provided by ordinance.
(g) The council may employ and compensate special counsel to assist in or take charge of any matter in which the city is interested.
(13) Police.
(a) The chief of police shall have command of the police force of the city, or the chief of a combined protective services department created under s. 62.13 (2e) (a) 1. shall have command of the combined protective services force, under the direction of the mayor. The chief shall obey all lawful written orders of the mayor or common council. The chief and each police officer or combined protective services officer shall possess the powers, enjoy the privileges and be subject to the liabilities conferred and imposed by law upon constables, and be taken as included in all writs and papers addressed to constables; shall arrest with or without process and with reasonable diligence take before the municipal judge or other proper court every person found in the city engaged in any disturbance of the peace or violating any law of the state or ordinance of the city and may command all persons present in that case to assist, and if any person, being so commanded, refuses or neglects to render assistance the person shall forfeit not exceeding $10. They shall collect the same fees prescribed for sheriffs in s. 814.70 for similar services, unless a higher fee is applicable under s. 814.705 (1) (b).
(b) The chief of police, or the chief of a combined protective services department created under s. 62.13 (2e) (a) 1., shall have charge of all city jails, including that portion of any jail which is used by the city in a joint city-county building.
(c) Every officer in charge of a jail shall keep a record concerning each person placed in the jail, including the person's name, residence and description, the time and cause of the person's confinement, and the authority under which the person was confined; and when any person is released, the time of and the authority for such release.
(d) The personnel required to comply with ss. 302.41 and 302.42 shall be provided at the expense of the municipality.
(15) Constables.
(a) A constable who is given law enforcement duties by the common council, and who meets the definition of a law enforcement officer under s. 165.85 (2) (c), shall comply with the minimum employment standards for law enforcement officers established by the law enforcement standards board and shall complete training under s. 165.85 (4) (a) 1.
(b) A constable shall keep his or her office in the city. No constable who keeps his or her office outside the limits of the city may receive fees for any service performed during the period the outside office is maintained.
History: 1971 c. 154, 175; 1971 c. 304 s. 29 (1); 1973 c. 90, 243; 1975 c. 21, 39, 41, 199, 258; 1975 c. 375 s. 44; 1975 c. 421; 1977 c. 29, 151; 1977 c. 305 s. 64; 1979 c. 34, 221, 251; 1981 c. 20, 317; 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (21); 1983 a. 210, 395; 1983 a. 532 ss. 10, 14; 1985 a. 29, 39; 1985 a. 135 s. 83 (5); 1985 a. 225; 1987 a. 27, 181, 378; 1989 a. 31, 56, 113; 1991 a. 39, 316; 1993 a. 27, 184, 490; 1995 a. 225; 1997 a. 27, 257; 1999 a. 32; 1999 a. 150 s. 299, 672; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 47, 204; 2005 a. 40; 2009 a. 3, 173; 2011 a. 32; 2013 a. 214; 2017 a. 51.
NOTE: 2003 Wis. Act 47, which affects this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.
Cross-reference: See s. 196.675, which provides that a city attorney may not be employed by common carrier or public utility.
Cross-reference: See s. 66.0609 for an alternative system of approving claims under sub. (10).
A mayor may not veto council action or inaction on public works contracts. Sturzl Construction Co. v. City of Green Bay, 88 Wis. 2d 403, 276 N.W.2d 771 (1979).
Discussing conflicts arising from the election of a school principal to the office of alderperson. 60 Atty. Gen. 367.
Alderperson and police officer spouses can continue to hold offices as long as the alderperson does not violate s. 946.13 (1) with respect to the police officer's contract. 63 Atty. Gen. 43.
A mayor in a city with a police and fire commission does not have the authority to order a police chief to reinstate a discharged probationary police officer. 81 Atty. Gen. 1.
When no provision fixes the term of appointive officers, such as a city treasurer, the term is limited to that of the appointing authority; removal by a successor does not implicate a due process property interest. Wolf v. City of Fitchburg, 870 F.2d 1327 (1989).
Police accountability in Wisconsin. 1974 WLR 1131.

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