198.05 Subdistricts, boundaries.
198.07 Board of directors, boundaries.
198.09 Vacancies, declared, filled.
198.11 Compensation and expenses of directors.
198.12 Corporate powers of district.
198.13 Acquisition of private utilities; dissolution of power district.
198.14 Powers of district board.
198.145 District legislature, ordinances, officers.
198.165 District clerk, treasurer, attorney, duties.
198.167 Certified accountant; annual report.
198.17 Eminent domain procedure.
198.19 Annexation of territory.
198.20 Consolidation of districts.
198.21 District obligations inviolate.
198.22 Municipal water districts.
198.01
198.01
Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
198.01(1)
(1) "Board of directors," "directors" or "board" means the board of directors of a municipal power district selected as provided in this chapter, duly constituted and organized and acting as a board.
198.01(2)
(2) "Chief executive" means mayor or city manager, village president, or chairperson of the town.
198.01(3)
(3) "Commission" means the public service commission and any other body, commission or agency of the state which may at any time hereafter succeed to the general powers and jurisdiction of said commission.
198.01(4)
(4) "Governing body," whenever used in relation to any municipality, means in the case of any town or village, the town or village board, and, in the case of any city, the common council or commissioners, as the case may be, of such city, and shall be held to include the mayor or other chief executive officer of such municipality in any case wherein the concurrence or approval of such officer is required by the law governing such municipality for the adoption of any municipal ordinance or resolution or other municipal act provided for in this chapter.
198.01(5)
(5) "Municipality" means any town, city or incorporated village.
198.01(6)
(6) "Municipal power district," "power district" or "district" means a municipal power district organized under this chapter, either as originally organized or as the same may be from time to time altered or amended.
198.01(7)
(7) "Public utility" or "utility" means the plant, equipment, materials, supplies and any other or different property, including contract rights, used and useful primarily for the production, transmission or furnishing of electric power to or for the public for any purpose by a person, firm, association, corporation or a municipality and whether operated by a person, firm, association, corporation, a municipality or by trustees or by receivers appointed by any court.
198.01(8)
(8) "Voters" means vote for governor at the last general election.
198.01 History
History: 1983 a. 189;
1989 a. 56 s.
258.
198.02
198.02
District, creation, powers. A municipal power district may be created as provided in this chapter and when so created shall be considered a municipal corporation and may exercise the powers herein granted. Any two or more municipalities, whether contiguous or otherwise or in the same or different counties, may organize and incorporate as a municipal power district, but no municipality shall be divided in the formation of such a district, nor shall any municipality be included therein unless approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon at an election on such proposition.
198.025
198.025
Plan for district. It shall be the duty of the public service commission upon request of the governing body of any city, village or town to work out with such municipality, or with any group of municipalities interested with it in the creation of a municipal power district, a feasible working plan for a proposed district.
198.03
198.03
Procedure for organizing district. The procedure for organizing, incorporating, and creating a municipal power district under the provisions of this chapter is as follows:
198.03(1)
(1) Initial resolution. The governing bodies of one-half or more of the municipalities proposed to be included in the district shall first pass resolutions, declaring that public interest or necessity demands the creation and maintenance of a municipal power district to be known as "the (giving the name) municipal power district". Such resolutions shall name the municipalities to be included in the proposed district. Certified copies of such resolutions shall next be presented to the county clerk of the county containing the largest number of voters within the proposed district, requesting said clerk to call an election without delay for determining whether such district shall be created.
198.03(2)
(2) Petition in lieu of resolution. In lieu of the resolutions provided for by
sub. (1), a petition may be presented to the county clerk of said county signed by at least ten per cent of the voters in said proposed district. Such petition shall declare that, in the opinion of the petitioners, public interest or necessity demands the creation and maintenance of a municipal power district. The petition may be on separate sheets of paper, but each sheet shall contain the affidavit of the person who circulated the same, certifying that each name signed thereto is the true signature of the person whose name it purports to be.
198.04(1)(1)
Notice to commission. Upon receipt of the certified copies of resolutions or the petition mentioned in
s. 198.03, such county clerk shall forthwith notify the public service commission in writing that the municipalities filing said resolutions or those named in said petition as constituting the proposed power district had petitioned the county clerk to call an election without delay for determining whether such district should be created.
198.04(2)
(2) Report of commission. Within ninety days after receipt of said notice of the county clerk the public service commission shall file in writing with said clerk its recommendations as to the feasibility or nonfeasibility of the proposed district with reasons therefor. Certified copies of such recommendations shall at the same time be filed by the commission with the clerk of each municipality included within said proposed district.
198.04(3)
(3) Election called. Upon receipt of such recommendations of the commission, or upon expiration of the ninety day period referred to in
sub. (2), said county clerk shall call without delay an election within the proposed district for the purpose of determining whether the proposed district shall be created.
198.04 History
History: 1993 a. 482.
198.05
198.05
Subdistricts, boundaries. Every petition or resolution provided for in
s. 198.03 shall divide the proposed district into five subdistricts, giving each a number, except as provided in
s. 198.07 (3). In the event that the boundaries of the district as originally proposed are changed at the election, provided for by
s. 198.06, and approved by the commission pursuant to
s. 198.06 (5), the commission shall make such adjustments in the boundaries of the subdistricts as may be necessary to comply with
s. 198.07.
198.06(1)(1)
Notice of election, publication. Upon the establishment of subdistricts the county clerk shall give notice of an election to be held within the proposed district for the purpose of determining whether the proposed district shall be created. Such notice shall state the name of the proposed district, and describe its boundaries. The notice shall be published once a week for at least 3 consecutive weeks before the day of the election in some newspaper or newspapers having a general circulation within the proposed district.
198.06(2)
(2) Ballot requirements. The ballot for the election shall be in such form and contain such instructions and shall be of the size required by
ss. 5.51 and
5.64 for the referendum ballot, except that there shall appear on the ballot the following:
Shall the.... (giving the name thereof) "municipal power district" be created and established?
YES ⍽ NO ⍽
198.06(3)
(3) Election procedure, electors, canvass. The election, and all matters pertaining to the election not otherwise provided for in this section, shall be conducted and the result ascertained in accordance with the election laws governing the conduct of local elections in the several election districts embraced in such proposed municipal power district, as nearly as may be, and no person may vote at the election unless he or she is a qualified elector of the territory included in the proposed district. The election may be held on the same day as any other state, city, village, town or county election and may be consolidated therewith. The ballots shall be transmitted by the local election authorities to the county board of canvassers of the county containing the largest number of voters within the proposed district, within 5 days after the election.
198.06(4)
(4) County canvass of votes, declare result. The county board of canvassers of the county shall meet on the Monday next succeeding the day of the election and shall canvass the votes cast, and in so doing shall canvass the returns of each municipality separately, and shall order and declare the district created of the municipalities in which a majority of those voting on the proposition voted in favor of the creation of the district, provided, that the total number of voters in the approving municipalities shall be not less than two-thirds of the number of voters within the district as first proposed.
198.06(5)
(5) Order of canvassers, filing, effect of reduced area, creation complete. The board of canvassers shall cause a certified copy of the order declaring the result of the election to be filed in the office of the secretary of state. A certified copy of the order shall also be filed with the clerk of each municipality included in the district, with the county clerk, and with the public service commission. In case the district as finally constituted comprises a smaller area than originally proposed, because of the failure of one or more municipalities to approve the district at the election, then, within 10 days following the filing with the commission, the commission shall file its approval or disapproval of the district as created by the election with the secretary of state, the clerk of each municipality included in the district and the county clerk. In such case, from and after the filing by the commission the creation and incorporation of the district shall be deemed complete, or the district shall be deemed dissolved, as the approval or disapproval of the commission shall determine, and in the case of municipal water districts created under
s. 198.22, unless objection thereto is made to the public service commission by one or more of the governing bodies of the municipalities which would otherwise be included in the district. If a district has been approved by all the municipalities within the district as proposed, the creation and incorporation of the district shall be deemed complete from and after the filing of the result of the election with the secretary of state by the board of canvassers.
198.06(6)
(6) Expenses of election, payment. All amounts properly incurred and actually expended by any municipality or the clerk thereof in publishing notices of any primary or election, in employing persons to conduct the election or in performing other duties imposed upon the municipality or upon the clerk thereof by any provision of this chapter shall be paid as other similar expenses of the municipality are paid and shall be a charge in favor of the municipality against the district to be repaid, together with interest thereon at the rate of 6% per year, upon the presentation of proper vouchers therefor by the clerk of the municipality to the district, when and as the district has funds available for that purpose.
198.06(7)
(7) Informalities disregarded, limitation of action to test validity of district. No informality in any proceeding or in the conduct of the election, not substantially affecting adversely the legal rights of any citizen, shall be held to invalidate the creation of any district, and any proceedings wherein the validity of the creation is denied shall be commenced within 3 months from the date of filing the order of the board of canvassers with the secretary of state, otherwise the creation and the legal existence of the district shall be held to be valid and in every respect legal and incontestable.
198.07
198.07
Board of directors, boundaries. 198.07(1)
(1) The government of each district shall be vested in a board of five directors.
198.07(2)
(2) The boundaries of the subdistricts shall be drawn in such a manner that each shall contain approximately an equal number of voters, except that no municipality shall contain more than two subdistricts, nor shall any municipality be divided unless it shall comprise more than one subdistrict.
198.07(3)
(3) Where a district includes a municipality containing voters in excess of fifty per cent of the voters in the entire district there shall be appointed a director at large. The territory in said district other than that contained in said municipality shall be divided into only 2 subdistricts.
198.08(1)(1)
Director for each subdistrict. There shall be a director for each subdistrict who shall be appointed by the chief executives of the municipalities included within said subdistrict.
198.08(2)
(2) Appointment. Within ten days after the creation and incorporation of such district shall have been completed the chief executives in each subdistrict containing more than one municipality shall meet for the selection of a director for said subdistrict. The time and place of such meeting shall be designated by said county clerk.
198.08(3)
(3) Appointment, continued. In the selection of a director each chief executive shall have one vote for each one thousand voters within that chief executive's municipality, or such part thereof as is located in said subdistrict. A three-fourths vote shall be necessary for the selection of a director. The result of said selection shall be certified to by the chairperson and clerk of said meeting and forthwith filed with the secretary of state and the clerk of each municipality in said district.
198.08(4)
(4) Adjournment. Such meeting may adjourn from time to time.
198.08(5)
(5) Appointment by executive. Where a municipality contains two subdistricts or where a subdistrict includes only one municipality, the chief executive of such municipality shall select a director for each such subdistrict, and shall file forthwith a certified copy thereof as provided by
sub. (3).
198.08(6)
(6) Director at large. Where the selection of a director at large is required such selection shall be made by the governor. A certified copy of such selection shall be filed forthwith by the governor as provided in
sub. (3).
198.08(7)
(7) Term, oath. The regular term of directors of the district after the first term shall be for four years. Each director shall hold office until the director's successor is selected and qualifies. Each director shall, before entering upon the discharge of the director's duties, take and subscribe to the constitutional oath of office. Such oath shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the district.
198.08(8)
(8) Biennial elections. The meeting of chief executives for the selection of directors subsequent to the initial selection of directors shall be held within the district on the second Tuesday in April in even numbered years prior to the expiration of the term of any director. The clerk of the district shall designate the time and place of each such meeting. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and in
s. 198.09, every selection of a director subsequent to the initial selection of directors shall be made in the manner provided by this chapter for the initial selection of directors.
198.08(9)
(9) Classification. Directors selected from odd numbered subdistricts shall for the first term serve for a period which shall end two years after the first Monday of May of the next even numbered year. Directors selected from even numbered subdistricts shall for the first term serve for a period which shall end four years after the first Monday of May of the next even numbered year. For the purposes of this section directors at large shall be considered to be from odd numbered subdistricts.
198.08(10)
(10) Election statistics. The clerk of the district shall seasonably obtain, compile and file in his or her office, for the information of the public, a statement showing the total number of votes cast for the office of governor in the last preceding general election in each subdistrict of the district. The clerk of every municipality and the elections board shall furnish such information so far as obtainable from their records, duly certified, to the clerk of the district upon request therefor by the clerk of the district. If the total number of votes cast in any subdistrict for the office of governor in the last preceding election cannot, because of an intervening change of boundaries of election wards or for any reason, be ascertained from any official record the clerk of the district shall fairly estimate such number for the purposes of such statement to be filed in his or her office.
198.09
198.09
Vacancies, declared, filled. The death of a director, the director's resignation, the director's disability to continue for any cause to act as director or the director's change of residence from the subdistrict in which the director was selected shall vacate that director's office. The board shall by resolution declare the office vacant and a certified copy of such resolution shall be filed forthwith by the clerk of the district with the clerk of each municipality included within the district. A successor for the unexpired term shall within twenty days after such filing, be selected by the officer or officers who selected the director whose office has been declared vacant.
198.09 History
History: 1993 a. 482.
198.10(1)(1)
Taxable property, taxes. All real property situated in and all personal property the situs of which for purposes of general property taxation is in the district shall be subject to taxation in and by the district for a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on any indebtedness of said district, and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof within twenty years from the time of contracting the same.
198.10(2)
(2) Annual tax levy, collection. On or before the first day of October in each year after any indebtedness shall have been incurred by any municipal power district, the board of directors shall certify in writing to the clerks of the several municipalities having territory in said district, the total amount necessary to pay the interest and debt retirement charges on outstanding indebtedness of said district for the ensuing year, and the share thereof that each such municipality must pay. For failure to pay such taxes the same penalties shall apply as for failure to pay other taxes. If any of such taxes shall remain unpaid and become delinquent the same shall be collected and payment thereof enforced in the same manner and by the same officers as other delinquent taxes are collected and payment thereof enforced and the proceeds of such collection and enforcement shall be paid over by the proper officers to the treasurer of the district. All officers of municipalities charged by this section with any duty or authority with respect to the assessment of property for taxation or the collection of any taxes for the benefit of any district shall have the same duties and liabilities with respect to the assessment of property and collection of taxes for the benefit of such district as are imposed upon them by law with respect to the assessment of property and collection of taxes for state and county purposes, except when inconsistent herewith, and shall be subject to the same penalties for any breach or neglect of duty or violation of law with respect thereto as in other cases.
198.10(3)
(3) Apportionment of taxes. Said share shall be determined upon the basis of the proportion which the assessed valuation of any municipality as equalized by the department of revenue bears to the total assessed valuation in all municipalities within said district as equalized by the department of revenue.
198.10(4)
(4) Municipal tax levy, clerks' duties. Upon the receipt of the report from the board of directors as provided for in
sub. (2) each such clerk shall submit the same to the next regular or special meeting of the governing board of said city, village or town and such board shall, by resolution, levy and assess taxes sufficient to pay the same, against all of the taxable property included within the power district in the clerk's municipality. Following such assessment and levy, the clerk of each such municipality shall place the same upon the tax roll to be collected as other taxes are collected upon all of the taxable property within said municipality, and such moneys when collected shall be paid by the treasurer of each such municipality to the treasurer of such municipal power district.
198.10(5)
(5) Utility property taxed. All utility property of every municipal power district, except a municipal water district created under
s. 198.22, shall be assessed and taxed in the manner provided by law for the assessment and taxation of privately owned public utilities.
198.10 History
History: 1993 a. 482.
198.11
198.11
Compensation and expenses of directors. 198.11(1)(1) Each director of the district shall receive compensation from the district for the director's services as such director at the rate of ten dollars for each day the director shall attend meetings of the board or of any committee of the board of which the director shall be a member, when the meeting of such committee is authorized by vote or resolution of the board, but such compensation shall not exceed the sum of one thousand dollars in any one year. Each director shall also be entitled to be reimbursed for the actual and necessary traveling and hotel expenses incurred by the director whenever it shall be necessary for the director to travel outside of the municipality in which the director resides to attend meetings of the board or a committee of the board of which the director is a member or to render any other service or discharge any other duty to the district which may be required of the director by law or by vote or resolution of the board.
198.11(2)
(2) The compensation of directors and amounts due them as reimbursement for expenses shall be paid at the end of each month upon itemized statements duly verified. Such statements shall be in such form as the clerk of the district shall prescribe and shall be audited and, if found true and correct, approved by the clerk of the district. When so audited and approved the amounts so approved shall be paid to the directors entitled thereto by the treasurer of the district out of the general fund of the district.
198.11 History
History: 1993 a. 482.
198.12
198.12
Corporate powers of district. 198.12(1)
(1)
Same as municipalities. Any district organized under the provisions of this chapter, shall have the right of perpetual succession, may sue and be sued, may take by eminent domain, grant, purchase, gift, devise, or lease or otherwise acquire and hold real and personal property of every kind within or without the district necessary to the full or convenient exercise of its powers, and may make contracts and do such other acts as shall be necessary and proper in the exercise of the powers and privileges granted and in the performance of the duties charged upon it and exercise such other or different powers as shall be conferred by law.
198.12(2)
(2) Service of process on, personal injury claims, venue. The district shall sue or be sued in its corporate name and service of process upon the district shall be by service upon the chairperson of the board and the clerk of the district, but no action shall be brought or maintained against a district upon a claim or cause of action unless the claimant complies with
s. 893.80. Compliance with
s. 893.80 is not required under this subsection in actions commenced under
s. 19.37 or
19.97. All actions by or against the district, except condemnation proceedings and actions to which the state or any officer or commission thereof is a party, shall be brought in the circuit court for the county in which its principal administrative office is located.
198.12(3)
(3) Subject to chapter 102. From the time when any district shall first operate any utility, it shall be held to be an employer, subject to
ch. 102.
198.12(4)
(4) Mode of exercising powers. The district shall act through and by ordinance, resolution or vote of its board of directors, or by its other duly constituted officers or agents acting within the scope of such authority as may be conferred upon them by law, or by lawful ordinance, resolution or vote of the board of directors.
