AB949: Bill Text

LRB-4446/2

MES:cs:rs

2003 - 2004 LEGISLATURE

2003 Assembly BILL 949

March 11, 2004 - Introduced by Representative Ward, cosponsored by Senator Risser. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AB949,1,4 An Act to amend 59.69 (5) (d) and 79.095 (1) (bm); to create 13.94 (1) (r), 59.69 (5) (dm) and 66.1002 of the statutes; and to affect 1999 Wisconsin Act 9, section 9158 (8w) (e); relating to: creating the Dane County Council of Governments and authorizing Dane County to enact a comprehensive zoning ordinance.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, the Dane County Regional Planning Commission (DCRPC) will be dissolved on October 1, 2004. Its net outstanding debt will be assigned to Dane County, and, if it has no outstanding debt, any unexpended funds will be returned to the cities, villages, towns, and county that supplied them.

This bill creates the Dane County Council of Governments (council), which is a local unit of government that is separate and distinct from the state and from any other local unit of government. The jurisdiction of the council is Dane County, and all of the cities, villages, and towns that are located within the county.

The council consists of the following members, who must all be elected officials, who have the following weighted votes:

1. The mayor of the city of Madison, 35 votes.

2. The president of the common council of the city of Madison, five votes.

3. The president of the Dane County Towns Association, 20 votes.

4. The president of the Dane County Cities and Villages Association, 20 votes.

5. The vice president of the Dane County Cities and Villages Association, five votes.

6. The Dane County executive, 20 votes.

7. The chairperson of the Dane County board, 5 votes.

The members of the council may not be represented by an alternate or designee. The council may not contract for professional services with any political subdivision in the state, but may hire its own employees. All decisions by the council to hire or terminate the executive director, or to retain a professional staff member at the end of a one year probationary period, require 70 affirmative votes. The council must create a merit system that applies to all employees other than the executive director.

The bill gives the council the authority to do a number of things, including the following:

1. To levy a property tax on the taxable property in the jurisdiction of the council, at a rate that may not exceed 0.002 percent.

2. If designated by the governor and approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, to act as the areawide water quality management agency (AWQMA) for Dane County. If the council is the designated AWQMA, it must adopt written criteria to expand or create sewer service areas before it may exercise such authority, and the exercise if this authority requires at least 70 affirmative votes.

3. To serve as a voluntary repository for adopted comprehensive plans and other land use plans.

4. To provide professional land use planning services under a contract with a political subdivision.

5. To develop and recommend for adoption a transfer of development rights program to limit scattered site low density development in rural areas.

6. To facilitate a forum for cooperation and information sharing among Dane County municipal engineers and planners, and public works officials, to better coordinate infrastructure development and growth within the county.

The bill requires the legislative audit bureau to conduct a financial audit of the council in August 2006.

Under the bill, upon the dissolution of the DCRPC, its net liabilities will become the responsibility of the council, and any remaining unexpended funds become the property of the council. The council sunsets on August 31, 2007, unless that date is extended by law, for all purposes, subject to one exception. Under the bill, if the council has any outstanding indebtedness on August 31, 2007, it may continue in existence only to impose a final tax levy in December 2007, to ensure that all of its outstanding liabilities are paid, and may receive the tax payments that result from that final levy. The Dane County treasurer is required to act as the council's agent to receive those tax payments and to pay the council's outstanding debts from the proceeds of that levy. The council dissolves for its remaining purpose, contained in the exception to its August 31, 2007, dissolution, no later than August 31, 2008, unless that date is extended by law. Any unexpended funds must be refunded to the taxpayers that supplied them.

Under current law, a county board may enact a comprehensive revision of its zoning ordinance. If a town board within the county that enacts such an ordinance fails to approve such a comprehensive ordinance within a year, neither the existing ordinance nor the comprehensive revision is in force in the town.

This bill creates a new method of enacting a comprehensive revision of a zoning ordinance for Dane County. Under the bill, a Dane County comprehensive revision zoning ordinance may be prepared by a committee that consists of the following persons:

1. Five town supervisors or plan commission members selected by the Dane County Towns Association.

2. One resident of a town in Dane County who is selected by the Dane County executive.

3. The Dane County director of planning and development.

4. One person selected by the Dane County Cities and Villages Association.

5. One person selected by the mayor of the city of Madison.

6. One member of the Dane County Zoning and Natural Resources Committee who lives outside of Madison, selected by the Dane County Board chairperson.

Once a majority of the town boards in Dane County approve the ordinance, it applies in every town in the county unless, before it takes effect, a town board enacts an ordinance stating that the town remains subject to the existing ordinance and that the new comprehensive ordinance does not apply in the town.

For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB949, s. 1 Section 1. 13.94 (1) (r) of the statutes is created to read:

AB949,3,4 13.94 (1) (r) Conduct a financial audit of the Dane County council of governments in August 2006. The legislative audit bureau shall file a copy of the audit report under this paragraph with the distributees specified under par. (b).

AB949, s. 2 Section 2. 59.69 (5) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB949,4,5 59.69 (5) (d) The board may by a single ordinance repeal an existing county zoning ordinance and reenact a comprehensive revision thereto in accordance with this section. "Comprehensive revision", in this paragraph, means a complete rewriting of an existing zoning ordinance which changes numerous zoning provisions and alters or adds zoning districts. The comprehensive revision may provide that the existing ordinance shall remain in effect in a town for a period of up to one year or until the comprehensive revision is approved by the town board, whichever period is shorter. If Except as provided in par. (dm), if the town board fails to approve the comprehensive revision within a year neither the existing ordinance nor the comprehensive revision shall be in force in that town. Any repeal and reenactment prior to November 12, 1965, which would be valid under this paragraph is hereby validated.

AB949, s. 3 Section 3. 59.69 (5) (dm) of the statutes is created to read:

AB949,4,12 59.69 (5) (dm) 1. Notwithstanding par. (d), the Dane County board may by a single ordinance repeal an existing county zoning ordinance and reenact a comprehensive revision thereto in accordance with this section and subject to this paragraph. "Comprehensive revision", in this paragraph, means a complete rewriting of an existing zoning ordinance which changes numerous zoning provisions and alters or adds zoning districts.

AB949,4,14 2. An ordinance under this paragraph shall be prepared by a committee that consists of the following members:

AB949,4,16 a. Five town supervisors or plan commission members selected by the Dane County Towns Association.

AB949,4,18 b. One resident of a town in Dane County who is selected by the Dane County executive.

AB949,4,19 c. The Dane County director of planning and development.

AB949,4,20 d. One person selected by the Dane County Cities and Villages Association.