229.26(1)(1) Any city of the 1st class may in addition to all other powers conferred upon it establish and maintain a convention complex and exposition center, hereinafter termed "convention institution", for the purpose of holding conventions, public meetings, expositions, exhibits, trade shows, gatherings, conferences and other related purposes of a public nature which are hereby declared to be public purposes.
229.26(2)
(2) The building, maintenance and operation of the convention institution shall be under the complete and autonomous control of a board which shall act independently and shall be designated as the "(city) Exposition and Convention Center and Arena Board". Such board shall be composed of the number of members as provided for by resolution adopted by the common council of such city. The common council shall prescribe the terms of members of the board and shall designate the manner in which they shall be selected. The board may sue and be sued.
229.26(3)
(3) The board shall have complete maintenance, supervision, control and operation of the convention institution and it shall regulate, control and designate the use thereof. The board shall also fix the terms and conditions for its use and do all things necessary for the maintenance and operation thereof and it shall handle all finances of the convention institution.
229.26(4)
(4) Title to all property real or personal of the convention institution shall be in the name of such city and shall, except as provided in
s. 229.47, be held by such city for such purposes, but the board shall determine the use to which such property shall be devoted as provided for in this section.
229.26(4m)
(4m) A common council that creates a convention institution under this section may dissolve the convention institution and the convention institution's board and transfer all of the assets and liabilities owned or administered by the convention institution if the common council enters into a transfer agreement under
s. 229.47 with a district that has jurisdiction over the territory in which the convention institution is located.
229.26(5)
(5) The common council of such city may appropriate such sums as may be required to supplement revenues of the convention institution in order for the board to regulate, control and operate the convention institution. The board may receive gifts and contributions from any source as in the judgment of such board shall be consistent and in keeping with the general operations and public purpose of the convention institution.
229.26(6)
(6) The common council may by resolution adopted by it impose additional duties and responsibilities upon the board in connection with the operation, maintenance and control of such convention institution, however, the board shall itself determine the manner in which such operation shall be performed.
229.26(7)
(7) In addition to all other powers of the board, the board may hire and retain personnel including the selection of a general manager for the convention institution and the board shall determine the manner of selection of all of its employees. The board shall establish the compensation for its personnel but shall relate as far as possible to general wage rates of such city of the 1st class for comparable work performed. The board may also enter into contracts on behalf of the board without first obtaining approval of the common council of such city and such contracts may be entered into with respect to all matters which relate to the operation, control and use of the convention institution as determined by the board.
229.26(8)
(8) The board shall report annually or more frequently as the common council so determines with respect to all receipts and disbursements of the board, balances of the board's funds and all other matters which bear upon the board's operations. Expenditures made by the board from funds under its control shall not require prior approval of the common council of such city.
229.26(10)
(10) If the employees who perform services for the board are included within one or more collective bargaining units under
subch. IV of ch. 111 that do not include other employees of the sponsoring municipality, and a collective bargaining agreement exists between the sponsoring municipality and the representative of those employees in any such unit, and if the common council enters into a transfer agreement under
s. 229.47, the board shall transfer its functions under that collective bargaining agreement to a local exposition district under
subch. II in accordance with the transfer agreement. Upon the effective date of the transfer, the local exposition district shall carry out the functions of the employer under that agreement. Notwithstanding
s. 111.70 (4) (d), during the term of any such collective bargaining agreement that is in effect at the time of the transfer, the existing collective bargaining unit to which the agreement applies shall not be altered.
229.27
229.27
Municipal theater. 229.27(1)(1) Any city of the 1st class may, in addition to all other powers conferred upon it, establish and maintain a municipal theater hereinafter termed "theater", for the purpose of providing a community facility to further the advancement of the performing arts and other related purposes of a public nature which are hereby declared to be public purposes.
229.27(2)
(2) An independent board shall be designated by the local governing body as the "(City) Theater Board". The board shall be composed of the number of members as provided for by resolution adopted by the local governing body of the city. The local governing body shall prescribe the terms of members of the board. Members shall be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the local governing body.
229.27(3)
(3) The board shall have complete and autonomous control of the building, maintenance, supervision and operation of the theater; and shall regulate, control and designate the use thereof. The board shall also fix the terms and conditions for use of the theater and do all things necessary for the maintenance and operation thereof and shall handle all finances of the theater. The board shall also contract or otherwise provide for personnel and other services and rentals necessary for the operation of the facility. The board may sue and be sued.
229.27(4)(a)(a) Title to all property, real or personal, of the theater may be in the name of the city and may be held by the city perpetually for such purposes, but the board shall determine the use to which the property shall be devoted under this section.
229.27(4)(b)
(b) Subject to the approval of the local governing body of the city, the board may enter into a transfer agreement with another person to provide the terms and conditions upon which the board may transfer any of the city's interests in an existing theater. A transfer may take the form of a sale, lease or other conveyance and may be with or without financial consideration, except that if the transfer is made to a private, for-profit entity, the transfer shall be for fair market financial consideration. A transfer agreement shall require the transferee to accept an assignment of all contracts with other persons, with respect to the transferred theater, that are in force at the time of the transfer except that this provision does not apply to collective bargaining contracts.
229.27(5)
(5) The local governing body of such city may appropriate such sums as may be required to supplement revenues of the theater in order for the board to regulate, control and operate the theater. As in the judgment of such board shall be consistent and in keeping with the general operation and public purposes of the theater, the board may receive, hold and manage any devise, bequest, donation or loan for the establishment, increase or maintenance thereof, under such regulations and conditions as may be prescribed pursuant to law or agreed upon by and between the donors and the board.
229.27(6)
(6) The local governing body may by resolution adopted by it impose additional duties and responsibilities upon the board in connection with the operation, maintenance and control of the theater, however the board shall itself determine the manner in which such operations shall be performed.
229.27(7)
(7) In addition to all other powers of the board, the board may hire and retain all personnel, or contract or designate responsibility for the supervision of the theater and the board shall determine the manner of selection of all of its employees, contracts or designees. The board shall establish the compensation for its personnel. The board may enter into contracts on behalf of the board without first obtaining approval of the local governing body of the city, and such contracts may be entered into with respect to all matters which relate to the operation, control and use of the theater as determined by the board.
229.27(8)
(8) The board shall report annually or more frequently as the local governing body so determines with respect to all receipts and disbursements of the board, balances of the board's funds and all other matters which bear upon the board's operations. Expenditures made by the board from funds under its control shall not require the approval of the local governing body of the city.
229.27(9)
(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, all actions of the board may be reviewed, modified or nullified by appropriate action of the local governing body.
229.27 History
History: 1977 c. 134;
1999 a. 112.
LOCAL EXPOSITION DISTRICTS
229.41
229.41
Definitions. In this subchapter:
229.41(2)
(2) "Board of directors" means the board of directors of a district.
229.41(3)
(3) "Bond" means any bond, note or other obligation of a district issued under this subchapter.
229.41(3m)
(3m) "Bond resolution" means a resolution of the board of directors authorizing the issuance of, or providing terms and conditions related to, bonds and includes, where appropriate, any trust agreement, trust indenture, indenture of mortgage or deed of trust providing terms and conditions for bonds.
229.41(4)
(4) "Chief executive officer" means, as to a sponsoring municipality, the mayor or city manager of a city, the village president of a village or the county executive of a county or, if the county does not have a county executive, the chairperson of the county board of supervisors.
229.41(4m)
(4m) "District" means a special purpose district created under this subchapter.
229.41(5)
(5) "Enabling resolution" means a resolution, or an amendment of a resolution, adopted by the governing body of a sponsoring municipality and signed by the chief executive officer to create a district.
229.41(6)
(6) "Exposition center" means one or more related structures, including fixtures and equipment, owned, operated or leased by a district and used primarily for conventions, expositions, trade shows, musical or dramatic events or other events involving educational, cultural or commercial activities, and not primarily for recreational or sporting activities.
229.41(7)
(7) "Exposition center facilities" means land or structures, including fixtures and equipment, owned, operated or leased by a district that are used primarily to support the activities of an exposition center, and are functionally related to the exposition center, such as offices, parking lots and garages, storage or loading facilities, access ways, transportation facilities, restaurants and stores.
229.41(8)
(8) "Exposition center site" means land owned, operated or leased by a district upon which an exposition center or exposition center facilities exist or may be constructed.
229.41(9)
(9) "Private sector entity" means an entity that is not a public sector entity.
229.41(10)
(10) "Public sector entity" means this state, a city, village, town or county or a quasi-governmental entity.
229.41(11)
(11) "Sponsoring municipality" means any city, village, town or county that creates a district either separately or in combination with another city, village, town or county.
229.41(12)
(12) "Transfer agreement" means the contract between a district and a sponsoring municipality that provides the terms and conditions upon which the ownership and operation of an exposition center and exposition center facilities are transferred from a sponsoring municipality to the district.
229.41 History
History: 1993 a. 263.
229.42
229.42
Creation and organization. 229.42(1)
(1) A sponsoring municipality may create a special purpose district that is a unit of government, that is a body corporate and politic, that is separate and distinct from, and independent of, the state and the sponsoring municipality, and that has the powers under
s. 229.44, if the sponsoring municipality does all of the following:
229.42(1)(a)
(a) Adopts an enabling resolution, subject to
sub. (2), that does all of the following:
229.42(1)(a)4.
4. Contains a description of the exposition center to be developed, owned, leased or operated by the district.
229.42(1)(a)5.
5. If the sole sponsoring municipality is a 1st class city, states that the municipality agrees to stop imposing and collecting its room tax under
s. 66.0615 (1m) (a).
229.42(1)(b)
(b) Files copies of the enabling resolution with the secretary of administration, the secretary of revenue and the county executive, if the sponsoring municipality is not a county.
229.42(2)
(2) A district may have more than one sponsoring municipality if each sponsoring municipality is identified in a substantially similar enabling resolution that is adopted by the governing body of each sponsoring municipality within a 90-day period commencing with the date of adoption of the first enabling resolution.
229.42(3)
(3) The district shall be governed by its board of directors and, except for the 3rd member described under
sub. (4) (d) who is either a chief executive officer of a municipality or a resident of the district, may not act until all of the persons appointed to its board are certified under
s. 229.435. The board of directors shall adopt bylaws to govern the district's activities, subject to this subchapter.
229.42(4)
(4) If the sole sponsoring municipality is a 1st class city, the board of directors shall consist of 15 members, who shall be qualified and appointed, subject to
sub. (7) (b), as follows:
229.42(4)(a)
(a) Two members, who shall be residents of the sponsoring municipality and primarily employees or officers of a private sector entity, shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of the sponsoring municipality.
229.42(4)(b)
(b) Three members, each of whom shall be a resident of the sponsoring municipality and primarily an employee or officer of a public sector entity, shall be appointed by the president of the governing body of the sponsoring municipality and the president may appoint himself or herself.
229.42(4)(c)
(c) One member shall be the comptroller of the sponsoring municipality, except that if the sponsoring municipality does not have a comptroller one member shall be the chief financial officer of the sponsoring municipality.
229.42(4)(d)
(d) Three members, 2 of whom shall be primarily employees or officers of a private sector entity, shall be appointed by the county executive of the most populous county in which the sponsoring municipality is located and the 2 private sector entity members shall reside in the county but may not reside in the sponsoring municipality. The 3rd member shall be the chief executive officer of a municipality that contributes a minimum of five-fourteenths of its room tax to an entity which promotes tourism and conventions within the jurisdiction of the district, as that term is used in
s. 229.43, except that if no municipality makes this minimum contribution the 3rd member shall be a resident of the district. The room tax contribution shall be at least $150,000 each year. The chief executive officer appointed under this paragraph shall serve a term that expires 2 years after his or her appointment, or shall serve until the expiration of his or her term of elective office, whichever occurs first.
229.42(4)(e)
(e) Four members, one of whom shall be the secretary of administration, or the secretary's designee, and 3 of whom shall be primarily employees or officers of a private sector entity, who shall be appointed by the governor. Of the 3 members who are officers or employees of a private sector entity, at least one of the appointees shall own, operate or manage an enterprise that is located within the district's jurisdiction and that has significant involvement with the food and beverage industry and at least one of the appointees shall own, operate or manage an enterprise that is located within the district's jurisdiction and that has significant involvement with the lodging industry. At least 2 of the appointees under this paragraph shall reside in the district's jurisdiction but may not reside in the sponsoring municipality.
229.42(4)(f)
(f) Two members, each of whom shall be a cochairperson of the joint committee on finance, or his or her designee if the designee is a member of the same house of the legislature as the cochairperson who makes the designation.
229.42(5)(a)(a) If a district has 2 or more sponsoring municipalities, one of which is a 1st class city, the board of directors shall consist of 8 members appointed by the chief executive officers of the sponsoring municipalities. The allocation of appointments by the chief executive officers and the expiration dates of the terms of office shall be specified in the enabling resolutions. The directors shall be subject to
sub. (7) (a).
229.42(5)(b)
(b) If a district has 2 or more sponsoring municipalities, none of which is a 1st class city, the board of directors shall consist of 6 members appointed by the chief executive officer of each sponsoring municipality. The allocation of appointments by the chief executive officers and the expiration dates of the terms of office shall be specified in the enabling resolutions. The directors shall be subject to
sub. (7) (a).
229.42(6)
(6) If the sole sponsoring municipality is not a 1st class city, the board of directors shall consist of 6 members, all of whom shall reside in the area of the district's jurisdiction and shall be appointed by the sponsoring municipality's chief executive officer, subject to
sub. (7) (a). The expiration dates of the members' terms of office shall be specified in the enabling resolution. Three of the directors shall be elected or appointed public officials of the sponsoring municipality, one shall own, operate or manage an enterprise that is located within the district's jurisdiction and that has a significant involvement with the hotel, motel and lodging industry, one shall own, operate or manage an enterprise that is located within the district's jurisdiction and that has a significant involvement with the food and beverage industry and one shall be an at-large appointment who is an employee or officer of a private sector entity.
229.42(7)(a)(a) Appointments by the chief executive officer under
subs. (5) and
(6) shall be subject to confirmation by the governing body of the sponsoring municipality. The terms of office of the public sector members of the board of directors shall be 3 years and shall expire upon the earlier of a date specified in the enabling resolution or the expiration of their respective terms of public office. The terms of office of the members who are officers or employees of a private sector entity shall be 3 years, except that for the initial appointments for a newly created district one-third of the appointments of such members shall be for one year, one-third shall be for 2 years and one-third shall be for 3 years. If the number of members who are officers or employees of a private sector entity is not divisible by 3, for the initial appointments of such members for a newly created district, approximately one-third of the appointments shall be for one year, approximately one-third shall be for 2 years and approximately one-third shall be for 3 years. No members who are officers or employees of a private sector entity may serve more than 2 consecutive full terms. Members may be removed from the board of directors prior to the expiration of their terms only by the chief executive officer and only for malfeasance or nonfeasance in office.
229.42(7)(b)1.1. Subject to
subds. 2. and
3., the terms of office of the members of the board shall be 3 years, except that for the initial appointments for a newly created district, as specified in the enabling resolution, 4 of the appointments shall be for one year, 4 appointments, including the 3 members appointed under
sub. (4) (d), shall be for 2 years and 4 appointments shall be for 3 years. The cochairpersons of the joint committee on finance or their designees shall serve on the board for a term that is concurrent with their terms in office and the comptroller's appointment shall be for the comptroller's tenure in his or her position.
229.42(7)(b)2.
2. The term of a public sector member shall expire or terminate upon the earliest occurrence of one of the following:
229.42(7)(b)2.c.
c. The member is removed by his or her appointing authority for malfeasance or nonfeasance in office.
229.42(7)(b)3.
3. The term of a member who is an officer or employee of a private sector entity shall expire or terminate upon the earliest occurrence of one of the following:
229.42(7)(b)3.b.
b. A member that is subject to a residency requirement establishes a nonqualifying residence.
229.42(7)(b)3.c.
c. A member that is appointed as a member from the food and beverage industry or the lodging industry no longer qualifies as an industry representative as described in
sub. (4) (e).
229.42(7)(b)3.d.
d. The member is removed by his or her appointing authority for malfeasance or nonfeasance in office.
229.42(8)
(8) The board of directors shall elect from its membership a chairperson, a vice chairperson, a secretary and a treasurer. A majority of the current membership of the board of directors constitutes a quorum to do business. Except as provided in
ss. 66.0615 (1m) (b) and
77.981, the district may take action based on the affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum.
229.42(9)
(9) The members of the board of directors shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
229.43
229.43
Jurisdiction. A district's jurisdiction is the sponsoring municipality's geographical area, except that, if the sponsoring municipality is a 1st class city, the district's jurisdiction is that city and each city and village that is wholly or partly contained within the most populous county in which that city is located and except that no territory may be included within the jurisdiction of more than one district.
229.43 History
History: 1993 a. 263.
229.435
229.435
Certification of board members. Within 30 days after a sponsoring municipality files an enabling resolution under
s. 229.42 (1) (b), each person who may appoint members to a board of directors under
s. 229.42 (4),
(5) or
(6) shall certify to the department of administration the names of the persons appointed to the board of directors under
s. 229.42 (5) or
(6) or, if the sole sponsoring municipality is a 1st class city, the names of the persons appointed to the board of directors under
s. 229.42 (4).
229.435 History
History: 1993 a. 263.
229.44
229.44
Powers of a district. A district has all of the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes and provisions of this subchapter. In addition to all other powers granted by this subchapter, a district may do any of the following:
229.44(1)
(1) Adopt and alter an official seal.
229.44(2)
(2) Sue and be sued in its own name, plead and be impleaded.
229.44(4)
(4) Do any of the following in connection with an exposition center and exposition center facilities:
229.44(4)(a)
(a) Acquire, construct, equip, maintain, improve, operate and manage the exposition center and exposition center facilities, or engage other persons to do these things.
