45.81(3)(b)
(b) The secretary of the commission shall maintain a list containing the name, place of residence, and amount of aid furnished to each person under
par. (a), which shall be signed by the chairperson and secretary of the commission.
45.81(3)(c)
(c) The total disbursements made by the commission under this subsection may not exceed the amount collected from the tax levied, except when specifically authorized by the county board. The commission shall provide the county treasurer with sufficient information to deliver the specified aid to the person entitled to that aid.
45.81(3)(d)
(d) The commission may furnish aid in a different manner than by supplying money. The commission may request the county treasurer to pay a purveyor of services or commodities for the purchase of services or commodities, or the commission may furnish supplies, as it considers appropriate.
45.81(3)(e)
(e) The commission shall make a detailed report to the county board annually showing the amount expended under this subsection. The report may not include any personal identifying information regarding the persons that received aid under this subsection.
45.81(4)
(4) A county veterans service officer appointed under
s. 45.80 (1) (b) or
(4) shall have the administrative powers and duties prescribed for the county veterans service commission under
sub. (2).
45.81(5)
(5) The county board shall allow the members of the commission a reasonable rate of compensation for services and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties to be determined under
s. 59.22. The county board may provide for the employment of clerical assistance to the commission.
45.81(6)
(6) The county veterans service officer shall serve as executive secretary of the county veterans service commission and shall make or direct all necessary investigations to determine eligibility for aid under
s. 45.86 when the commission so requests. The county service officer, in making an investigation, may use the facilities for investigating that are made available by the county board.
45.81 History
History: 2005 a. 22;
2011 a. 96.
45.82
45.82
Grants to counties and tribes for improvement of services. 45.82(1)(1) Each county may annually apply to the department for a grant for the improvement of service to former military personnel of the county through the county veterans service office. A county may not allocate any portion of a grant for use by another county department nor may the county reduce funding to a county veterans service office based upon receipt of a grant. The county veterans service officer of any county applying for the grant shall enter into an agreement with the department. The agreement shall state the goals and objectives to be attained by the county veterans service office during the remainder of the year covered by the grant application. The department shall prepare the basic form of this agreement in consultation with the county veterans service officers association and provide a copy and an explanation of that agreement to each county veterans service officer. The department shall develop reasonable budget and operating standards to assure improved services, but full operating control of the county office shall be left to each county.
45.82(2)
(2) The department of veterans affairs shall award a grant annually, on a reimbursable basis as specified in this subsection, to a county that meets the standards developed under this section if the county executive, administrator, or administrative coordinator certifies to the department that it employs a county veterans service officer who, if chosen after April 15, 2015, is chosen from a list of candidates who have taken a civil service examination for the position of county veterans service officer developed and administered by the bureau of merit recruitment and selection in the department of administration, or is appointed under a civil service competitive examination procedure under
s. 59.52 (8) or
ch. 63. The department of veterans affairs shall twice yearly reimburse grant recipients for documented expenses under
sub. (5), subject to the following annual reimbursement limits: $8,500 for a county with a population of less than 20,000, $10,000 for a county with a population of 20,000 to 45,499, $11,500 for a county with a population of 45,500 to 74,999, and $13,000 for a county with a population of 75,000 or more. The department of veterans affairs shall use the most recent Wisconsin official population estimates prepared by the demographic services center when making grants under this subsection.
45.82(3)
(3) Notwithstanding
sub. (2), an eligible county with a part-time county veterans service officer shall be eligible for an annual grant not exceeding $500.
45.82(4)
(4) The department shall provide grants on a reimbursable basis as specified in this subsection to the governing bodies of federally recognized American Indian tribes and bands from the appropriation under
s. 20.485 (2) (km) or
(vw) if that governing body enters into an agreement with the department regarding the creation, goals, and objectives of a tribal veterans service officer, appoints a veteran to act as a tribal veterans service officer, and gives that veteran duties similar to the duties described in
s. 45.80 (5), except that the veteran shall report to the governing body of the tribe or band. The department shall twice yearly reimburse grant recipients for documented expenses under
sub. (5), not to exceed $15,000 per grant under this subsection and shall promulgate rules to implement this subsection.
45.82(5)
(5) Only the following expenses are eligible for reimbursement under
subs. (2) and
(4):
45.82(5)(b)
(b) Transportation for veterans and service to veterans with barriers.
45.82(5)(d)
(d) Training and services provided by the department and the federal department of veterans affairs.
45.82(5)(e)
(e) Salary and fringe benefit expenses incurred in 2015; salary and fringe benefit expenses incurred in 2016, except that total reimbursement for such expenses shall not exceed 50 percent of the applicable maximum grant under
sub. (2) or
(4); and salary and fringe benefit expenses incurred in 2017, except that total reimbursement for such expenses shall not exceed 25 percent of the applicable maximum grant under
sub. (2) or
(4).
45.82(6)
(6) The department shall promulgate rules establishing criteria and procedures for reimbursement under
subs. (2) and
(4).
45.82 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: See also chs.
VA 8 and
15, Wis. adm. code.
45.83
45.83
Transportation services grants to counties. 45.83(1)(1) Annually, from the appropriation under
s. 20.485 (2) (s), the department shall award grants to counties that are not served by transportation services provided by the Wisconsin department of Disabled American Veterans to develop, maintain, and expand transportation services for veterans. The grants may be used to support multicounty cooperative transportation services.
45.83(2)
(2) The department shall promulgate rules specifying the application procedures and eligibility criteria for grants under this section.
45.83(3)
(3) A county may not reduce funding to a county veterans service office based upon receipt of a grant.
45.83 History
History: 2005 a. 22.
45.83 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: See also ch.
VA 16, Wis. adm. code.
45.84
45.84
Burial allowance. 45.84(1)(1) Each county veterans service officer shall cause to be interred in a decent and respectable manner in any cemetery in this state, other than those used exclusively for the burial of paupers, the body of any veteran, spouse, or surviving spouse who was living in the county at the time of death and who dies not leaving sufficient means to defray the necessary expenses of a decent burial, or under circumstances that would cause financial distress to the person's family. The cost of this interment shall be the responsibility of the county, but may not be less than $300, and shall be in addition to the burial allowance payable under laws administered by the U.S. department of veterans affairs.
45.84(2)
(2) Before assuming the burial expense, the county veterans service officer shall exercise due diligence in attempting to determine the financial condition required by
sub. (1). The county veterans service officer, in making the inquiry, may use the facilities for investigation that are made available by the county board. The county veterans service officer shall report the results of that determination to the appropriate authorities designated by the county.
45.84(3)
(3) The chairperson of the county board and the clerk of the county on the receipt of the report under
sub. (2) shall draw an order on the county treasurer for the amount of expenses so incurred, payable to the person designated in the report as being entitled to that payment. The county veterans service officer of each county shall, upon the death and burial of a veteran described under
sub. (1) who was living in the county at the time of death, make application to the proper authorities for a suitable headstone as provided for by act of congress, and at the expense of the county cause the same to be placed at the head of the deceased's grave.
45.84 History
History: 2005 a. 22.
45.85
45.85
Care of graves. 45.85(1)(1) Every town board, village board, or common council of every city shall at all times see that the graves and tombstones of all veterans, including women's auxiliary organizations created by act of Congress, who shall at any time have served in any branch of the armed forces of the United States, and of the spouses or surviving spouses of all those veterans, receive proper and decent care, and may employ all necessary assistance to carry out this section. The expense of the care of the graves and tombstones shall be borne by the county where the graves are located, except where suitable care is otherwise provided. The amount of expense charged the county for the care may not exceed the charge made for the care of other graves in the same cemetery.
45.85(2)
(2) The governing body specified in
sub. (1) shall report to the county clerk of its county, on or before September 1 of each year, the locations of the graves cared for by the governing body under
sub. (1), together with the names of the deceased and the amount claimed for care of the graves for the fiscal year from the previous July 1 to June 30.
45.85(3)
(3) The chairperson of the county board and the county clerk, upon receipt of the report under
sub. (2), shall draw an order on the county treasurer for the amount of the expenses incurred in caring for the graves, payable to the person or persons designated in the report as being entitled to the payment.
45.85 History
History: 2005 a. 22.
45.86
45.86
County tax for needy veterans. 45.86(1)
(1) Every county board shall annually levy, in addition to all other taxes, a tax sufficient to carry out the purposes of this section. The tax shall be levied and collected as other county taxes for the purpose of providing aid to needy veterans, the needy spouses, surviving spouses, minor and dependent children of the veterans, and the needy parents of veterans entitled to aid under
ss. 45.81 to
45.84, and to carry out the purposes of
s. 45.85. Aid may not be denied solely on the basis that a person otherwise eligible for aid owns a homestead that the person occupies.
45.86(2)
(2) The county veterans service commission or county veterans service officer shall estimate the probable amount required under this section and shall file that estimate with the county board.
45.86 History
History: 2005 a. 22.
