27.019(2)(2)
Definition. “Rural planning" as used in this section means planning for the health, general welfare, and amenity of the settler; planning for the establishment of the best possible transportation facilities; planning for the creation and development of the most logical community centers where country people can come together for social and business relations; planning for the setting aside of country parks, recreation fields, county fairgrounds, community woodlands, places of local and historic interest, and for the reservation of land for public uses along river fronts, lake shores, fine outlooks from hilltops, and for the preservation of our native landscape.
27.019(3)
(3) Department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, duty. The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection shall stimulate interest and disseminate information along lines of rural planning and shall cooperate with county rural planning committees in carrying out their duties as provided by sub.
(7).
27.019(4)
(4) County committee. In each county there shall be a county rural planning committee. The committee shall consist of the chairperson of the county board and the chairperson of the county highway committee, and 2 others, to be appointed by the chairpersons every 4 years for a term of 4 years and until a successor is elected and qualified. Terms of appointed members expire on July 1. The chairperson of the county board shall be chairperson of the committee.
27.019(6)
(6) Expenses. Elected members shall be freeholders of the county and have a general interest in and knowledge of rural planning. All members shall be reimbursed by the county for their actual and necessary expenses incurred while acting as members of such committee. The county board may set a per diem for such members for days attended at committee meetings or spent in the interests of rural planning and, in counties where the rural planning committee operates a county park or parks which bring a financial return to the county, the county board may provide a salary for the secretary of the rural planning committee.
27.019(7)
(7) Duties. The county rural planning committee shall:
27.019(7)(a)
(a) Keep itself informed of the progress of rural planning in this and other counties.
27.019(7)(b)
(b) Report to the county, town or village boards upon the architectural design of any public building or bridge, the geographical location of community centers, the location or design of any statue or memorial, works of art and mural decorations in public buildings when such are proposed, to the end that such matters may be made in the highest degree effective, permanent, dignified and fitting through proper design, form and situation.
27.019(7)(c)
(c) Advise regarding the planting and protection of trees, shrubs and flowers along all highways within the county to the end that they shall be so located as not to interfere with the maintenance of said highway, and that only trees, shrubs and flowers native to Wisconsin be used for this purpose.
27.019(7)(d)
(d) Consider and provide for the establishment of community parks and woodlands, proportioned and situated so as to provide ample and equal facilities for the establishment of community parks and residents of the county.
27.019(7)(e)
(e) Propose to the county board the setting aside of places of historic interest and the protection and preservation of unique and picturesque scenery along rivers, lakes and streams, or other scenery or features remarkable, to the end that they may be continued and preserved.
27.019(7)(f)
(f) It may under the direction of the county board, operate a county park or parks for tourist camping and general public amusement, and may establish fees, concession privileges and grants and employ such help as is needed to operate the park or parks for the best county interests. The county board shall establish rules and regulations governing the conduct and behavior of patrons in and on any such park and shall provide for penalties for infractions of these rules and regulations. When such parks have bathing beaches in connection with them, the county board shall make rules and regulations governing the operation of motor boats in or near such beaches, and provide penalties for infraction of such rules and regulations. The board shall also establish rules, regulations and penalties for infractions thereof, for all roads in county parks and all such roads shall be part of the county highway system.
27.019(8)
(8) Reports to county board. The county board may call upon such committee to report with recommendations upon any matter relating to rural planning, and such committee shall make its report within 30 days after such request is made unless a longer or shorter period is specified. But such committee may at any time, on its own motion, make recommendations on any phase of rural planning to the county board.
27.019(9)
(9) Committee secretary; planning experts. Such committee with the consent of the county board may appoint as secretary a person of skill and experience in rural development and may with the consent of such board employ consulting rural planning experts for the making of plans or maps of the county or any portion thereof showing location, design or treatment of proposed projects referred to in this section, as occasion may require.
27.019(10)
(10) Acquisition of land. Any county in which there does not exist a county park commission acting through its rural planning committee may acquire by gift, grant, devise, donation, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, with the consent of the county board, a sufficient tract or tracts of land for the reservation for public use of river fronts, lake shores, picnic groves, outlook points from hilltops, places of special historic interest, memorial grounds, parks, playgrounds, sites for public buildings, and reservations in and about and along and leading to any or all of the same, and to develop and maintain the same for public use. The power of condemnation may not be used for the purpose of establishing or extending a recreational trail; a bicycle way, as defined in s.
340.01 (5s); a bicycle lane, as defined in s.
340.01 (5e); or a pedestrian way, as defined in s.
346.02 (8) (a).
27.019(11)
(11) Enforce highway littering law. Such committee shall work out plans to enforce the provisions of s.
287.81 (2) (a) and
(2m) prohibiting the depositing of solid waste on or along highways.
27.019(12)
(12) Cooperation of state departments. The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, the department of administration, the department of natural resources and the agricultural extension division of the University of Wisconsin shall cooperate with the several county rural planning committees in carrying out this section.
27.019(13)
(13) County rural planning committee, when unnecessary. Any county wherein there exists a county park board and any county which shall create a park commission under s.
27.02 shall not create a county rural planning committee but in such county the county park board or commission shall exercise and be possessed of all the powers and duties imposed upon the county rural planning committee by this section.
27.019 Annotation
The mill annual tax levy limitations set forth in s. 27.06 apply when county parks are operated by a county park commission, pursuant to s. 27.02 or a county board committee to which the functions and duties of a park commission have been transferred but not when county parks are operated under the express provisions of s. 27.015 [now s. 27.019]. 60 Atty. Gen. 124.
27.02
27.02
County park commission, appointment, term, oath. 27.02(1)(1)
Except as provided under sub.
(2), in every county with a population of at least 150,000, but less than 750,000, and in any other county with a population of less than 150,000 wherein the county board has by resolution provided for a county park commission subject to ss.
27.02 to
27.06, the chairperson of the county board shall appoint a county park commission consisting of 7 members, any number of which may be members of the county board. The appointments shall be made in writing and filed in the office of the county clerk. The term of each member, except county board members, is 7 years following July 1 of the year in which the appointment is made and until the appointment and qualification of a successor, except that the first 7 members shall be appointed respectively for such terms that on July 1 in each of the 7 years following the year in which they are appointed the term of one member will expire. After the original appointments one commissioner shall be appointed annually in the month of June to succeed the member whose term will expire on July 1 following, except that in counties with a population of at least 150,000 but less than 750,000 the members shall be elected by the county board of supervisors. The term of any park commissioner appointed to the commission while serving as a county board member shall end when the commissioner's membership on the county board terminates, unless thereafter reappointed to the commission.
27.02(2)
(2) In any county with a county executive or county administrator except a county with a population of less than 150,000 which has not by resolution provided for a county park commission subject to ss.
27.02 to
27.06 or except any county exercising power under s.
27.075, the county park commission shall consist of 7 members appointed by the county executive or county administrator, subject to confirmation by the county board. The term of office for such members shall be as provided by sub.
(1). A member of the commission appointed under this subsection may be removed at pleasure by the county executive or county administrator.
27.02(3)
(3) Each of said commissioners shall take and file the official oath.
27.02 Annotation
The mill annual tax levy limitations set forth in s. 27.06 apply when county parks are operated by a county park commission, pursuant to s. 27.02 or a county board committee to which the functions and duties of a park commission have been transferred but not when county parks are operated under the express provisions of s. 27.015 [now s. 27.019]. 60 Atty. Gen. 124.
27.02 Annotation
A city may not delegate its powers under ss. 27.08 and 27.09 to a county park commission created under s. 27.02. 61 Atty. Gen. 229.
27.03
27.03
Organization. 27.03(1)(1)
Within 30 days after their appointment and qualification the said commissioners shall convene at the courthouse and perfect an organization; and thereupon such park commission shall have the usual powers of such bodies in addition to those hereinafter enumerated, shall use a common seal, make bylaws and choose annually from its members all necessary officers.
27.03(2)
(2) In any county with a county executive or a county administrator, the county executive or county administrator shall appoint and supervise a general manager of the park system. The appointment shall be subject to confirmation by the county board unless the county board, by ordinance, elects to waive confirmation or unless the appointment is made under a civil service system competitive examination procedure established under s.
59.52 (8) or ch.
63. In any county with a population of 750,000 or more, the general manager of the park system shall be in the unclassified civil service and is subject to confirmation by the county board unless the county board, by ordinance, elects to waive confirmation.
27.03(3)
(3) The county board shall provide suitable offices where the maps, plans, documents, and records of the commission shall be kept, subject to public inspection at all reasonable hours and under such reasonable regulations as it may prescribe.
27.04
27.04
Preliminary survey. 27.04(1)(1)
Except as provided under sub.
(1m), the commission shall make a thorough study of the county with reference to making reservations and acquisitions of lands therein for public uses, the improvement of such lands for parks, playgrounds, forest reservations, parkways and boulevards; make surveys, lay out maps, other plans and maps of a comprehensive county park system, and a county system of streets and parkways, including contiguous land of whatever shape or area designed to be ultimately used, in whole or in part, for highways, or, in whole or in part, for parkways; gather such further information in relation thereto as it deems useful and report the same to the county board. It shall make such other or further reports as may be requested by the county board. In making such studies, surveys and obtaining such information, and in making such reports, the commission shall give consideration, among other matters, to the health, comfort, enjoyment and general welfare of the people of the county, to the protection of streams, lakes and pools from pollution, to the use by the public of lakes, pools and the banks thereof, to the reforestation for public use and enjoyment of tracts of land, to the conservation of flooded areas, and to the preservation of places of natural beauty and of historic or scientific interest.
27.04(1m)
(1m) Any general manager appointed under s.
27.03 (2) shall have the administrative powers and duties prescribed for the commission under sub.
(1).
27.04(2)
(2) The county board thereafter may by ordinance adopt the plans proposed by the commission or general manager for such comprehensive county park system, or for such a county system of streets and parkways, in whole or in part, and with such changes or modifications as it deems necessary, and may subsequently alter, change, enlarge, extend or modify the same in any respect deemed necessary.
27.04 History
History: 1985 a. 29.
27.05
27.05
Powers of commission or general manager. The county park commission, or the general manager in counties with a county executive or county administrator, shall have charge and supervision of all county parks and all lands acquired by the county for park or reservation purposes. The county park commission or general manager, subject to the general supervision of the county board and regulations prescribed by the county board, except as provided under s.
27.03 (2), may do any of the following:
27.05(1)
(1) Lay out, improve, maintain and govern all county parks and open spaces.
27.05(1g)
(1g) Provide by contract with sanitary districts, counties, towns, cities or villages, subject to the approval of the county board of supervisors, or in any other manner, for the disposal of sewage arising from the use of county parks and take all action necessary to prevent the pollution of park or parkway areas or any portion thereof by sewage emanating from upland areas.
27.05(1m)
(1m) Lay out, determine and prescribe building lines along, grade, construct, improve and maintain roads, parkways, boulevards and bridges in county parks or connecting county parks with any other parks or open spaces or with any municipality in the county, using methods and materials that it considers expedient.
27.05(1s)
(1s) Make rules for the regulation of the use and enjoyment of the county parks and open spaces by the public.
27.05(2)
(2) Accept, in the name of the county, grants, conveyances and devises of land and bequests and donations of money to be used for park purposes.
27.05(3)
(3) Acquire, in the name of the county, by purchase, land contract, lease, condemnation, or otherwise, with the approval and consent of the county board, such tracts of land or public ways as it deems suitable for park purposes; including lands in any other county not more than three-fourths of a mile from the county line; but no land so acquired shall be disposed of by the county without the consent of said commission, and all moneys received for any such lands, or any materials, so disposed of, shall be paid into the county park fund hereinafter established. The power of condemnation may not be used for the purpose of establishing or extending a recreational trail; a bicycle way, as defined in s.
340.01 (5s); a bicycle lane, as defined in s.
340.01 (5e); or a pedestrian way, as defined in s.
346.02 (8) (a).
27.05(4)
(4) Acquire in the name of the county by purchase, land contract, lease, condemnation or otherwise, with the approval and consent of the county board, such tract or tracts of land as it deems necessary for the purpose of providing a suitable and convenient place and station upon which airplanes and aircraft generally may land, be cared for, and make flight from; and improve and provide such place with the necessary hangars, and equipment for same; and said county park commission or county park manager further may let, lease or have such lands or station, and make such charge therefor, as they deem proper and advisable; provided, however, that any such lands so acquired, leased or used for such purpose shall not be leased or let, exclusively, to any person, but proper provision in any such use, lease or letting, shall be made for use, by others who may desire to use same; and for the purpose herein specified said county park commission or county park manager may appropriate and use from and out of the county park funds, and the county board of supervisors may appropriate and use from and out of the funds of the county, such sum or sums as may be severally or jointly sufficient to pay for such lands and improvements; and all rents, charges and income received from said lands and the use thereof shall belong to and be paid into the county park fund herein established.
27.05(5)
(5) Plant, transplant, remove, trim, spray and otherwise care for and protect all trees and shrubs on or in that part of every road, parkway and boulevard which it has laid out pursuant to this section, lying between the lot line and the curb, or in the center or side plots in all boulevards and parkways.
27.05(6)
(6) Let, lease or grant the use of such part or portion of the park lands now owned or hereafter acquired as to it shall seem reasonably necessary, convenient or proper to agricultural and other societies of similar nature for agricultural and industrial fairs and exhibitions and such other purposes as tend to promote the public welfare. All fences and buildings constructed and other improvements made on such lands by societies using the same shall be constructed and made according to plans submitted to, and approved by the county park commission or county park manager, and shall be the property of the county. The county board may appropriate money for and construct buildings and make improvements on any such lands so used in the same manner and to the same extent as provided by s.
59.56 (14) (a) to
(c).
27.05(7)
(7) Investigate the pollution of streams and lakes wholly or partially within the jurisdiction of each county, by sewage, industrial waste, fertilizers or other probable cause of water pollution and engage in weed control and treatment or any other treatment in order to provide clean, clear water in such lakes and streams. In connection with the exercise of such powers and duties the county park commission or county park manager may conduct investigations, by authorized agents enter upon any lands and buildings in the county at reasonable hours, subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, make findings, and report such findings to the county board of supervisors of such county. Each county may join with, cooperate or contract with other counties or municipalities to provide for pollution control or weed control and treatment of lakes and streams wholly or partially within such county.
27.05(8)
(8) Have complete and exclusive jurisdiction and control over the improvement and maintenance of that portion of any public alley, street or highway which has heretofore been, or hereafter may be, by consent of the governing body of the town, city or village wherein such alley, street or highway is located, made a part of the county park or parkway system. The installation of privately owned utilities in such portion of said public alley, street or highway shall be made subject to the approval of said county park commission or county park manager; sewers, water mains or other municipally owned utilities or facilities may be installed and maintained by the governing body of the municipality in which such portion of said alley, street or highway is located, upon 5 days' notice in writing to said county park commission or county park manager, which notice shall specify the type of utility to be installed and have plans thereof attached, and provided that the town, city or village shall restore as nearly as practicable to its prior condition any surface, subsurface or structures located above or below the ground that may be disturbed by said installation or maintenance.
27.05 Annotation
Although counties may charge reasonable fees for the use of facilities in their county parks, they may not charge such fees only to out-of-state residents while allowing all Wisconsin residents to utilize such facilities free of charge simply because outdoor recreation program funds are involved. Such action would create an arbitrary and unreasonable distinction based on residence and unconstitutionally deny residents of other states equal protection of the laws. 60 Atty. Gen. 18.
27.05 Annotation
A county has full power and control over county park lands even though they are located within the limits of a city. 60 Atty. Gen. 282.
27.05 Annotation
The practice of a county park commission, in granting free or complimentary season golf passes for the use of the county-owned and operated golf course to elected county officials and certain appointed county officials, is in excess of the authority of the commission when the practice cannot be shown to serve any identifiable public purpose. 63 Atty. Gen. 213.
27.06
27.06
Mill-tax appropriation. The county board may annually, at the same time that other county taxes are levied, levy a tax upon the taxable property of such county for the purchase of land and the payment of expenses incurred in carrying on the work of the park commission. In every county having a population of 750,000 or more, the county park commission shall be subject to s.
59.60.
27.06 Annotation
The mill annual tax levy limitations set forth in s. 27.06 apply when county parks are operated by a county park commission, pursuant to s. 27.02, et seq., or a county board committee to which the functions and duties of such commission have been transferred but not where county parks are operated under the express provisions of s. 27.015 (now s. 27.019). Annual taxes levied to pay principal and interest on county indebtedness incurred under ch. 67 for park purposes must be included within the mill limitation set forth in s. 27.06. Proceeds from the sale of part of a county park may be used for capital improvements in county parks in addition to a maximum annual levy under s. 27.06. 60 Atty. Gen. 124.
27.065
27.065
County parks and parkways. 27.065(1)(a)(a) The county board of any county which shall have adopted a county system of parks or a county system of streets and parkways, pursuant to s.
27.04, may acquire the lands necessary for carrying out all or part of such plan by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise; provided, however, that no lands shall be acquired by condemnation unless and until the common council of the city or the board of trustees of the village or the board of supervisors of the town wherein such land is situated shall consent thereto. The power of condemnation may not be used for the purpose of establishing or extending a recreational trail; a bicycle way, as defined in s.
340.01 (5s); a bicycle lane, as defined in s.
340.01 (5e); or a pedestrian way, as defined in s.
346.02 (8) (a). The cost of acquiring such lands by purchase or condemnation may be paid in whole or in part by the county or by the property to be benefited thereby, as the county board shall direct but in no case shall the amount assessed to any parcel of real estate exceed the benefits accruing thereto; provided, that no assessment for paying the cost of acquiring lands may be levied or collected against the property to be benefited until the governing body of the city, village or town where such lands are located has by resolution determined that the public welfare will be promoted thereby. Title to all lands acquired hereunder shall be an estate in fee simple.
27.065(1)(b)
(b) Before instituting condemnation proceedings or purchasing lands to be paid for in whole or part by assessment of benefits, the county board shall specify in general terms the land to be so acquired and shall refer the same to the county park commission, except that in counties with a county executive or county administrator, the referral shall be to the general manager. The commission or general manager shall thereafter make a report to the county board, giving a particular description of each lot, parcel or subdivision of land to be thus acquired, together with the opinion and recommendations of the commission or general manager upon the matter of acquiring such lands. Thereafter the county board may, by resolution, determine whether or not such lands shall be acquired by condemnation proceedings or otherwise.
27.065(2)(a)
(a) Whenever lands for a county system of parks or parkways are being condemned in accordance with this section, ch.
32, relating to eminent domain with relation to the acquisition of lands for streets, applies to the acquisition of lands for streets and parkways by the county board, excepting that in cases where the whole or any part of the cost of acquiring such lands is to be paid by special assessments the board by resolution may determine that such assessments may be paid in one or more equal annual installments, together with a rate of interest upon the unpaid principal, which interest shall not exceed 6 percent. Any person whose lands are taken or against whose lands assessments for benefits or damage are made, may appeal from the award of the commissioners to the circuit court of the county as prescribed by s.
32.05 (11). If it appears to the condemnation commissioners or to the court that the public interest will be served by changing the boundaries or increasing or decreasing the amount of land to be acquired, the court or commissioners may so notify the county board, and the condemnation petition filed by the board may be so altered, changed or amended by resolution of the board. Notice may be given and new parties brought in as provided in s.
32.14.
27.065(2)(b)
(b) When any assessment of benefits and damages is made in condemnation proceedings the commissioners shall file a copy of their final report in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county and also with the county clerk. The county clerk shall thereupon prepare a list of special taxes to be entered in the tax roll on account thereof, which list shall have set opposite each description against which benefits not offset by damages or an excess of benefits over damages shall have been assessed, the amount of such benefits or excess, which amount shall be levied upon the land described as a special tax and be collected the same as other taxes for county purposes. The amount thereof shall be certified by the county clerk with other state and county taxes and charges, to the clerks of the cities, towns or villages within which the property is located, and the clerks of the respective cities, towns or villages, at the time of making out the next tax roll, shall levy the same on the land described as a special tax to be collected the same as other taxes. The first installment shall include a proportionate part of the principal of the special assessment, together with interest on the whole assessment at the rate fixed by the county board, from the date when the county shall have obtained the right to possession of the land condemned. Payment of the amount of damages awarded to any owner by the commissioners shall be made to such owner regardless of benefits assessed against other lands of the same owner.
27.065(2)(c)
(c) The cost of condemnation shall be paid out of the general or contingent county fund, except where a special fund therefor shall have been provided.
27.065(2)(d)
(d) For the purpose of anticipating the collection of special assessments on account of such acquisition and after the assessments have been determined the county board may provide that the amount thereof may be paid with certificates against the parcels of real estate so benefited, or in special improvement bonds, or from the proceeds of the sale of such bonds, or that payments may be made part in certificates, part in cash and part in special improvement bonds, and the manner of issuing, the form and content of such certificates and bonds shall be governed by subs.
(7) to
(12) so far as applicable. The special assessment bonds issued hereunder may contain a general description of the lands against which assessments have been made to pay the cost of acquisition.
27.065(2)(e)
(e) The county board may provide for the payment out of the county treasury of all or any portion of the special assessments theretofore levied pursuant to this section and not yet due, and in such event shall, upon verified application, refund to the persons who have made prepayment of such assessments the proportionate amounts of such prepayments.
27.065(3)
(3) Parkways and streets, improve. The county board may improve all or any portion of the county's system of streets and parkways by causing the same to be leveled, graded, paved or improved in any other manner, and sidewalks, curbs or gutters or either installed, cause water and sewer mains and laterals, and lighting mains and fixtures, fences, bridges, culverts, viaducts and flood control dams erected and constructed therein, and cause the parkway portions thereof to be planted, seeded or sodded. The county board may establish the grade of all streets and parkways in areas not already established and change and reestablish the same as it deems expedient. Whenever it shall change or alter the permanently established grade of any street or parkway, any person thereby sustaining damages to property owned on the affected street shall have a right to recover the damages in the manner set forth in this section. The grade of all streets and parkways shall be established and described and the adoption of such grades and all alterations thereof shall be recorded by the county clerk. No street or parkway shall be worked until the grade thereof is established and recorded in the office of the county clerk.
27.065(4)(a)
(a) The expense of such work or improvement may be paid in whole or in part by the county or by the property to be benefited thereby, as the county board shall direct, but in no case shall the amount assessed to any parcel of real estate exceed the benefits accruing thereto by such improvement, and in no case shall any benefits be assessed except for grading, paving, sidewalk, curb, gutter, sewer or water mains or laterals, and in no case shall any assessment be made upon the real estate for any such work or improvement upon any established and existing road, street or highway until the governing board of the city, village or town in which said road, street or highway is located has by resolution determined that the public welfare will be promoted by such work and improvement.
27.065(4)(b)
(b) Where sidewalks have been installed adjacent to private property, s.
66.0907 shall govern in respect to keeping said sidewalks in repair and free from snow, ice and obstructions; provided that the county board shall have the powers in said section vested in the common council, and the county highway committee shall have such powers as are in said section vested in the board of public works, and the word “city" shall mean the county. Where private homes are built upon lands abutting on any portion of a parkway and such houses face the parkway drive and said drive is the means of entrance to said lands, similar to any city street, then the responsibility for maintaining the area between the parkway drive and the private property lot line shall be that of the abutting property owner.
27.065(5)
(5) Preliminary estimate; contract or noncontract work. 27.065(5)(a)(a) No such work or improvement shall be commenced by the county board until the county park commission except in counties with a county executive or county administrator, until the general manager, has made a preliminary estimate of the cost thereof and submitted the same, together with a proposed plan of such improvement showing the character and extent of the same to the county board. The county board may thereafter determine the character and extent of the improvements to be made. Such improvements may be made by contract or noncontract work as the county board shall determine. All contracts awarded under this paragraph shall be let by contract to the lowest responsible and reliable bidder. When the work required or directed to be let to the lowest responsible and reliable bidder, plans and specifications for the same containing a description of the work, materials to be used and such other matters as will give an intelligent idea of the work required, shall be prepared and filed with the county clerk for the inspection of bidders, together with a form of contract and bond, with sureties required, and the same shall be furnished to all persons desiring to bid on the work. All contracts shall be entered into in the name of the county and shall be executed and performed under the direction of the county board, except that in any county without a county executive or county administrator the county board may vest its county highway committee or the county park commission with authority to enter into such contracts and to have charge of the performance thereof. In any county without a county executive or county administrator, the county highway commissioner, under the direction of the county board, or the county highway committee or park commission, shall superintend such work.
27.065(5)(b)
(b) In any county with a county executive or a county administrator, the county board may vest the county highway commissioner or the county park manager with authority to enter into contracts under par.
(a) and to have charge of the performance thereof.
27.065(6)
(6) Determination of benefits and damages; notice. 27.065(6)(a)(a) Before the county board shall change or alter any established grade or order any work to be done in any county system of streets or parkways at the expense in whole or in part of the real estate to be benefited thereby, it shall order the county highway commissioner to view the premises and determine the damages and benefits which will accrue to each parcel of real estate affected by such change or alteration of grade, the entire cost of the contemplated work or the improvement upon the street or parkway, the benefits and damages that will accrue to the several parcels of real estate thereby, and the amount that should be assessed to each parcel of real estate as benefits accruing thereto by such contemplated work or improvement.
27.065(6)(b)
(b) The county highway commissioner shall make and file in the office of the county clerk and in the commissioner's own office duplicate reports showing the determinations required to be made by the commissioner under par.
(a).
27.065(6)(c)
(c) Notice shall be given by the county clerk that such report is on file and open for review at this office, and will be so continued for the space of 10 days after the date of such notice, and that on a day named therein, which shall not be more than 3 days after the expiration of said 10 days, the county highway commissioner or such committee of the county board as may be appointed by resolution therefor will be present and will hear all objections that may be made to such report.
27.065(6)(d)
(d) Such notice shall be published as a class 2 notice, under ch.
985.
27.065(6)(e)
(e) No irregularity in the form of such report nor of said notice shall affect its validity if it fairly contains the information required to be conveyed thereby.
27.065(6)(f)
(f) At the time specified for hearing objections to said report, the county highway commissioner or the committee shall hear all parties interested, who appear for that purpose, reduce to writing all objections that may be made and all evidence that may be offered to sustain the same, and may review, modify and correct said report as they deem just, and thereupon a complete final report shall be made and filed by the county highway commissioner or the committee with the county clerk, together with all objections and evidence taken to sustain the same, and the proof of publication of said notice, as above specified, which shall be received in all cases as presumptive evidence of the facts therein stated.
27.065(6)(g)
(g) No irregularity in the form of said report or manner of conducting the proceedings or in the proof of publication shall affect the legality of said report, unless it appears that the owners of the property affected by the proceedings were clearly misled by such irregularity and have not had an opportunity to be heard. At such hearing the county highway commissioner or any member of the committee may administer oaths as necessary when conducting such hearing.
27.065(6)(h)
(h) The county clerk shall publish as a class 2 notice, under ch.
985, that said report is on file in the county clerk's office and that the county board will, at a meeting to be held at the time stated in the notice, consider said report and hear all objections that may be made thereto, and determine what proportion of the cost of the improvement, if any, shall be paid by the county. The county board may at such meeting confirm or correct such report or refer it back to the county highway commissioner or to its committee for further consideration.
27.065(6)(i)
(i) Subject to the limitations hereinbefore mentioned the county board may determine the amount to be paid by the real estate as benefits on account of improvements of a street or parkway and the amount that should be paid by the county.
27.065(6)(j)
(j) When the final determination has been reached by the county board, the county clerk shall publish as a class 2 notice, under ch.
985, that a final determination has been made as to the damages that will accrue to the real estate because of the change of an established grade or the benefits and damages to be assessed to the real estate in case of the proposed improvement.
27.065(6)(k)
(k) The owner of any parcel of land affected by the county board's final determination as to damages who feels aggrieved thereby, may within 20 days after the date of the final determination appeal therefrom to the circuit court of the county in which the affected property is located, by causing a written notice of appeal to be served upon the county clerk, and by executing a bond to the county in the sum of $50, with 2 sureties, to be approved by the county clerk, and conditioned for the faithful prosecution of the appeal, and the payment of all costs that may be adjudged against the owner. The county clerk, in case such appeal is taken, shall file a brief statement of the proceedings had in the matter before the county board with its decision thereon, and shall transmit the same with all the papers in the matter to the clerk of the circuit court. Such appeal shall be tried and determined in the same manner as cases originally commenced in the circuit court; if the claimant recovers a greater sum than the claimant was allowed by the county board the claimant shall recover costs, otherwise the county shall recover costs. No appeal shall affect or delay the proceedings for making the improvement or any contract which may be entered into therefor, but a certificate or improvement bond, as the case may be, against the lot or parcel of real estate in question, for the amount of benefits assessed to that lot, shall be issued notwithstanding such appeal, and in case the appellant shall succeed, the difference between the amount charged in the certificate or bond so issued and the amount adjudged to be paid as benefits accruing to the parcel of real estate described in the certificate or bond shall be paid by the county.
27.065(6)(L)
(L) The appeal given by par.
(k) from the report of the county highway commissioner or committee of the county board, as confirmed by the county board, shall be the only remedy of the owner of any parcel of land or any person interested therein, for the redress of any grievance the person may have by the making of such improvement, or of the change of any established grade covered by said report, or of any assessment or tax levied on account thereof.
27.065(7)(a)
(a) When under a plan for a county system of streets and parkways adopted by the county board pursuant to s.
27.04, any improvement is made and the cost is in whole or in part chargeable to the real estate to be benefited thereby, the county board may provide that the amount so charged may be paid with certificates against the parcels of real estate so benefited, or in special improvement bonds, or from the proceeds of the sale of such bonds, or that payments may be made part in certificates, part in cash, and part in special improvement bonds.
27.065(7)(b)
(b) Such certificates or bonds shall be in such form and bear such interest not exceeding 6 percent per year as the county board may prescribe, shall be executed as provided in s.
67.08 (1) and may be registered under s.
67.09. They may be made payable to the bearer with interest coupons attached, and the county board may bind the county to make good deficiencies in the collection up to but not exceeding the principal and interest, at the rate fixed, and for the time specified, upon such terms and conditions as the county board may prescribe. If the county board makes good any such deficiencies the county shall become the owner of the certificate or bond and shall succeed to all the rights of such owner in addition to all other rights of the county provided by law in cases of delinquent taxes on lands.
27.065(8)
(8) Certificates. Whenever any work or improvement chargeable in whole or in part to the property specially benefited has been completed and the same approved by the county board, the contractor or the county shall be entitled to the certificate therefor as to each parcel of land against which benefits shall have been assessed for the amount chargeable thereto. After the expiration of 9 months from the date of said certificate the same shall be conclusive evidence of the legality of all proceedings up to and inclusive of the issue thereof and it may be transferred by endorsement; provided, however, that this provision shall not affect any appeal from the final determination by the county board. If said certificates are not paid before October 15 in the year in which they are issued, the same may on or before the first day of November in each year, be filed with the county clerk, whose statement of special assessments which shall be paid in the next tax shall include an amount sufficient to pay said certificate with interest thereon at the rate provided in said certificate to the time when the county clerk is required to make return of delinquent taxes, and thereafter the same proceedings shall be had as in case of other taxes.
