Bar dues
Counties are not required to pay the bar dues of district attorneys and assistant district attorneys serving the county. However, a district attorney or assistant district attorney may elect under section 978.12(6), Stats., to retain a county fringe benefits package that includes payment of bar dues. 79-159
Bids and bidders
Municipalities may require bidders to include a list of subcontractors. Counties may reject a proposal for failure to include a complete list, except when omitted subcontractors themselves submitted timely, written bids to the general contractor. 76-29
Bridges
County aid available for construction of bridges under sec. 81.38, Stats., may be provided only to towns, and not to cities or villages, and may not be provided once a town commences a bridge project. County aid for bridge projects may be provided to cities and villages under sec. 83.03(1), Stats. Such aid may be provided once a municipality has begun work on a bridge project but not after the project has been completed. (Unpub.). 56-1982
Bus company subsidy
Section 59.968(3), Stats., authorizes a county subsidy when a bus company operates a route which is principally located within the county. 65-191
Citations for ordinance violations
Without statutory authority to do so, a county cannot use citations for violations of ordinances that have certain statutory counterparts. Section 66.119(3)(b), Stats., only authorizes the use of citations for violations of ordinances other than those for which a statutory counterpart exists. 76-211
Commitments
Responsibility for providing and funding facilities for protective placements under ch. 55, Stats., is primarily on the county. 66-249
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
The Governor can designate counties as agencies of the state to contract with nonprofit private agencies to utilize funds to provide public service jobs under Federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. 66-15
Confidential reports
Before client information is released to another division within a county community human services department, a written and informed consent is necessary. The community human services board and the director may view client information without a written and informed consent for any purpose related to their powers and duties. 69-273
Contracts
A county has no statutory authority to award contracts only to unionized contractors. Federal preemption rules probably foreclose the exercise of such authority in any event. Further, federal preemption rules foreclose denying contracts to employers engaged in labor disputes. 79-86
Corporation counsel
Duties of corporation counsel in county over 500,000 concerning paternity matters under secs. 52.21-52.45, Stats., cannot be transferred to legal counsel employed in a separate department created pursuant to powers in sec. 59.025, Stats. (Unpub.). 22-1978
Criminal law
The authority of county officials to offer rewards for the arrest or conviction of persons violating the criminal law is limited to the circumstances set forth in sec. 59.25(2), Stats. 63-555
Deer shining
County boards do not have authority to legally proscribe deer shining since the Legislature has delegated such authority to the Department of Natural Resources. 68-81
District Attorney
Counties are not required to pay the bar dues of district attorneys and assistant district attorneys serving the county. However, a district attorney or assistant district attorney may elect under section 978.12(6), Stats., to retain a county fringe benefits package that includes payment of bar dues. 79-159
It is the responsibility of the county to develop position descriptions, determine salaries and compile a list of eligible applicants for investigative and support staff positions within the district attorney's office. It is the district attorney's responsibility to approve each new member of the investigative and support staff and to supervise such staff after it is hired. 80-19
Statutorily prescribed duties of the District Attorney cannot be diminished or enlarged by the County Board except where certain duties are transferred to the County Corporation Counsel by Board resolution. (Unpub.). 76-1977
Dog license fund
Where a county board has designated the County Humane Society or other organization to provide a dog pound, section 174.09(2), Stats., requires any surplus in excess of $1,000 must be paid over annually by the County Treasurer to such society and no consent of the respective collecting towns, villages and cities is needed. 74-65
Elections
Failure to publish notices of an election on the last Tuesday in May, the first Tuesday in June, and the second Monday preceding an election on the question of removal of a county seat and failure by the County Clerk to distribute the ballots will not invalidate the election where it appears that the voters were well informed of the time, place, and manner of the election and the issue involved, and a majority of the qualified voters who went to the polls, excluding those who had an opportunity to vote on the question of removal but chose not to, voted in favor of removal. 66-219
Employment Trust Funds, Department of
The Department of Employe Trust Funds is not authorized to administer supplemental retirement funds established by collective bargaining under sec. 111.70, Stats. (Unpub.). 59-1979
Entitlement lands
Previous opinions on the distribution of payments in lieu of taxes discussed. (Unpub.). 16-1982
Federal aid
Section 59.20(13), Stats., does not control the distribution of monies received from the federal government under 31 U.S.C. sec. 1601. OAG 45-78, issued June 9, 1978, is withdrawn. 67-277
.42/51.437 Boards
Although a multi-county combined 51.42/51.437 board may make cuts in non-emergency services to the residents of a county that does not provide its proportionate share of funding to that Board, an individual county may not escape its statutory obligation to provide non-emergency services to its residents under sections 51.42(1)(b) and 51.437(4), Stats., by refusing to make such funding available to the combined board. 73-96
Liability, reimbursement and collection for services provided under secs. 51.42 and 51.437, Stats., discussed. 65-49
Section 51.42(5)(h)7. permits multicounty 51.42/51.437 Board to retain private legal counsel only where the Corporation Counsel of each county, or District Attorney of each county not having a Corporation Counsel, notifies the Board that he or she is unable to provide specific services in a timely manner. Litigation, as used in section 59.44(3), applies only to civil court proceedings and does not include grievance proceedings or proceedings before an administrative agency. 73-8
Fire department
Town having fire department must provide protection for county-owned property such as a landfill site, and in case of failure to do so shall be liable for services of any fire department responding to request to fight fire in such town. County in its discretion can reimburse town for reasonable costs of services provided to landfill site within town. 67-6
Foster home
County agencies do not have authority to directly operate. (Unpub.). 39-1976
Funds of residents in county infirmary
Administrator or trustees of county infirmary cannot deposit funds of residents in interest bearing account and use interest to purchase items for common use of residents. (Unpub.). 42-1975
Groundwater pollution
To accomplish public health protection as well as prevention of groundwater pollution, a county health commission, where such activity is undertaken with the consent of the property owner, can authorize its staff to enter private property for the purpose of determining the location of an existing private sewage disposal system. If consent of the property owner to such activity on his premises is not obtained, it can only be undertaken by county health commission staff pursuant to special inspection warrant obtained under sec. 66.122, Stats. 63-337
Housing
A county cannot use county funds and county employes to improve, reconstruct or repair homes of private citizens who do not qualify for aid under ch. 49, Stats., without utilizing a housing authority pursuant to secs. 59.075, 66.40-66.404, Stats. Employes of housing authority are not county employes. 64-106
Section 59.07(1), Stats., is not sufficiently broad to permit county to furnish housing for elderly and low-income persons where specific statutes provide for furnishing of such housing. 63-297
Human services board
Under section 46.23(4)(a)1., Stats., officers, employes and directors of public or private entities that furnish "human services" to a county may not be appointed to the county's human services board. The prohibition contained in section 46.23(4)(a)1. does not extend to the appointment of members of the immediate family that do not provide human services to the board, but other legal and practical considerations may mitigate strongly against such appointments. 80-30
A county human services board may not delegate the duties described in section 51.437(9)(am), (b), (e) and (g), Stats., to the long-term support planning committee created by section 46.27(4). 78-158
Human services department
Counties are financially responsible for providing mental health services to residents conditionally released under section 971.17, Stats. 79-181
"Volunteer Registration Form" utilized by county human services department to register volunteer drivers who transport department clients is ineffective to release county from civil liability in event client is injured or killed in accident. Moreover, an attempt by a county to obtain such a release from liability may violate public policy. 80-23
A county department of social services or county department of human services may not contract with other agencies to obtain section 48.981, Stats., reporting or investigatory services in situations other than the performance of independent investigations required by section 48.981(3)(d). A cooperative contract might be possible under section 66.30(2) in order to effectuate this purpose but the services must be furnished by the county department as defined in section 48.02(2g) and not by any other public or private agency. 76-286
Institutions board members; appointment of
Persons appointed by County Executive and confirmed by County Board to County Veterans Service Commission, single county 51.42 Board or County Institutions Board serve for statutory term as stated in years and until their successors are appointed, confirmed and qualified. Persons appointed to vacancies in such positions also serve until their successors are appointed, confirmed and qualified. Difference between personal term of officer and statutory term which pertains to office discussed. 73-99
