[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Howards Grove as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Assessor — See Ch. 91, § 91-8.
Village Board — See Ch. 130.
Licenses and permits — See Ch. 259.
[Adopted as Title 3, Ch. 1, of the 1993 Code of Ordinances]
A. 
Content of tax roll. Pursuant to § 70.65, Wis. Stats., the Clerk-Treasurer shall prepare a tax roll and include the required contents as described in § 70.65, Wis. Stats.
B. 
Property tax collection. All provisions of Ch. 74, Wis. Stats., in regards to property tax collection are adopted and by reference made a part of this article with the same force and effect as though set out in full.
A. 
Bond eliminated. The Village of Howards Grove elects not to give the bond on the Village Clerk-Treasurer, in his capacity as Treasurer, as provided for by § 70.67(1), Wis. Stats.
B. 
Village liable for default of Treasurer. Pursuant to § 70.67(2), Wis. Stats., the Village shall be obligated to pay, in case the Village Clerk-Treasurer acting as Treasurer shall fail to do so, all state and county taxes required by law to be paid by such Treasurer to the County Treasurer.
A. 
Departmental estimates. When requested by the Village Clerk-Treasurer, each officer and committee shall annually file with the Village Clerk-Treasurer an itemized statement of disbursements made to carry out the powers and duties of such officer or committee during the preceding fiscal year, and a detailed statement of the receipts and disbursements on account of any special fund under the supervision of such officer or committee during such year, and of the conditions and management of such fund; also detailed estimates of the same matters for the current fiscal year and for the ensuing fiscal year. Such statements shall be presented in the form prescribed by the Village Clerk-Treasurer and shall be designated as "Departmental Estimates," and shall be as nearly uniform as possible for the main division of all departments.
B. 
Consideration of estimates. The Finance Committee shall consider such departmental estimates in consultation with the department head and develop a budget amount for such department or activity.
C. 
Form of proposed budget. The proposed budget shall include the following information:[1]
(1) 
The actual expenditures of each department and activity for the expired portion of the current year and last preceding fiscal year, and the estimated expense of conducting each department and activity of the Village for the remainder of the current year and ensuing fiscal year, with reasons for any proposed increase or decrease as compared with actual and estimated expenditures for the current year.
(2) 
An itemization of all anticipated income of the Village from sources other than general property taxes and bonds issued, with a comparative statement of the amounts received by the Village from each of the same or similar sources for the last preceding and current fiscal year.
(3) 
An estimate of the amount of money to be raised from general property taxes which, with income from other sources, will be necessary to meet the proposed expenditures.
(4) 
All existing indebtedness of the Village, including the amount of interest payable and principal to be redeemed on any outstanding general obligation bonds of the Village and any estimated deficiency in the sinking fund of any such bonds during the ensuing fiscal year.
(5) 
Such other information as may be required by the Board and by state law.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
D. 
Copies of budget. The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall provide a reasonable number of copies of the budget summary thus prepared for distribution to citizens. The entire fiscal budget shall be available for public inspection in the office of the Village Clerk-Treasurer during regular office hours.
E. 
Report and hearing.
(1) 
The Village Board's Finance Committee shall make a report no later than the Board's first November meeting. The report shall include the estimated cost of improvements as well as the estimated cost of operating the various departments and all other costs, including interest charges, for which money will have to be raised by taxation during the following year.
(2) 
A summary of such budget and notice of the time and place where such budget in detail is available for public inspection and notice of the time and place for holding the public hearing thereon shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village or legally posted at least 15 days prior to the time of such public hearing
(3) 
Not less than 15 days after the publication of the proposed budget and the notice of hearing thereon, the public hearing shall be held at the time and place stipulated, at which time any resident or taxpayer of the Village shall have an opportunity to be heard on the proposed budget. The budget hearing may be adjourned from time to time. Following the public hearing, the proposed appropriation ordinance may be changed or amended and shall take the same course in the Village Board as other ordinances.
The amount of the tax to be levied or certified, the amounts of the various appropriations, and the purposes thereof shall not be changed after approval of the budget except upon the recommendation of the Village President and upon a two-thirds vote of the entire membership of the Village Board. Notice of such transfer shall be given by publication within 15 days thereafter in the official Village newspaper.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
No money shall be drawn from the treasury of the Village, nor shall any obligation for the expenditure of money be incurred, except in pursuance of the annual appropriation in the adopted budget or when changed as authorized by § 45-4 of this article. At the close of each fiscal year, an unencumbered balance of an appropriation shall revert to the general fund and shall be subject to re-appropriation, but appropriations may be made by the Board, to be paid out of the income of the current year, in furtherance of improvements or other objects or works which will not be completed within such year, and any such appropriation shall continue in force until the purpose for which it was made shall have been accomplished or abandoned.
The calendar year shall be the fiscal year.
The Village Board shall designate the public depository or depositories within this state within which Village funds shall be deposited, and when the money is deposited in such depository in the name of the Village, Village officials and bondsman shall not be liable for such losses as are defined by state law. The interest arising therefrom shall be paid into the Village treasury.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
Board to audit accounts. Except as provided in Subsection C, no account or demand against the Village shall be paid until it has been audited by the Village Board and an order drawn on the Village Clerk-Treasurer therefor. Every such account shall be itemized. After auditing, the Village Board shall cause to be endorsed by the Clerk-Treasurer, over his hand on each account, the words "allowed" or "disallowed," as the fact is, adding the amount allowed, if any, and specifying the items or parts of items disallowed, if disallowed in part only. The minutes of the proceedings of the Board shall show to whom and for what purpose every such account was allowed and the amount thereof. Every such account or demand allowed in whole or in part shall be filed by the Clerk-Treasurer, and those of each year shall be consecutively numbered and have endorsed thereon the number of the order issued in payment.
B. 
Claims to be verified. All accounts, demands or claims against the Village shall be verified by the claimant or proper official.
C. 
Payment of regular wages or salaries. Regular wages or salaries of Village officers and employees shall be paid by payroll, verified by the proper Village official, department head, board or commission and filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer in time for payment on the regular pay day.
The Village Clerk-Treasurer may invest any Village funds not immediately needed, pursuant to §§ 66.0603(2) and 219.05, Wis. Stats.
A. 
The Village Clerk-Treasurer and his deputies shall not receive any money into the treasury from any source, except on account of taxes levied and collected during the fiscal year for which they may then be serving, without giving a receipt therefor in the manner specified by the Village Board.
B. 
Upon the payment of any money (except for taxes as herein provided), the Village Clerk-Treasurer shall make out a receipt in duplicate for the money so received. The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall charge the amount thereof to the treasury and credit the proper account. The payment of the money to any receiving agent of the Village or to the Village Clerk-Treasurer shall be safeguarded in such manner as the Village Board shall direct.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
The Village Clerk-Treasurer and his designees are authorized to prepare a Statement of Real Property Status form to be used to provide information often requested for transfers of real property such as the amount of outstanding special assessments, deferred assessments, changes in assessments, amount of taxes, outstanding sewer bills, current sewer bills, contemplated improvements, outstanding citations on building code violations, and similar information. Any such information sought shall be provided to the person requesting it on said form. Requests for Statements of Real Property Status shall be made to the Village Clerk-Treasurer a minimum of one business day in advance. There shall be a fee as designated in the Village Rate Schedule for the preparation of a Statement of Real Property Status.
A. 
All contracts for public construction shall be let by the Village Board in accordance with § 62.15, Wis. Stats. The Village Board, or a person or body designated by the Village Board, shall exercise the powers and duties of the Board of Public Works under § 62.15, Wis. Stats.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
B. 
Construction by the Village. Any class of public construction may be done directly by the Village without submitting the same for bids, provided that the same is authorized by a vote of 3/4 of all members of the Village Board.
Billings by the Village may be paid within 30 days after billing without interest. Thereafter, interest may be charged at the rate of 1% per month or any fraction thereof until the following 15th day of November. Bills not paid on or before the 15th day of November shall have added to the total amount due 1% of said charges and shall be entered on the tax roll as a special charge and become a lien upon real estate.
A firm of certified public accountants shall be employed each year by the Village, subject to the confirmation of the Village Board, to conduct a detailed audit of the Village's financial transactions and its books and to assist the Clerk-Treasurer in the management of the Village's financial affairs, including the Village's public utilities. These auditors shall be employed on a calendar-year basis. The books audited may, in addition to the Village financial records of the office of the Clerk-Treasurer, include the Village Clerk-Treasurer's books, the Village's public utilities, and any other books of any boards, commissions, officers or employees of the Village handling Village moneys.
No agent of the Village of Howards Grove having authority to employ labor or to purchase materials, supplies or any other commodities may bind the Village or incur any indebtedness for which the Village may become liable without approval of the Board. Each such employment or purchase order shall be drawn against a specific appropriation, the money for which shall be available in the Village treasury and not subject to any prior labor claims or material purchase orders at the time when such employment is negotiated or purchase order drawn. The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall keep a record of such employment and purchase orders and shall charge them against the proper appropriation.
[Adopted as Title 3, Ch. 2, of the 1993 Code of Ordinances]
Pursuant to either § 66.0627, 66.0701, or 66.0703, Wis. Stats., incorporated herein by reference as amended from time to time, the Village of Howards Grove by resolution of its Village Board may levy and collect special assessments upon property in a limited and determinable area for special benefits conferred upon such property by any municipal work or improvement and may provide for the payment of all or any part of the cost of the work or improvement out of the proceeds of the special assessments.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
The amount assessed against any property for any work or improvement which does not represent an exercise of the police power shall not exceed the value of the benefits accruing to the property therefrom, and for those representing an exercise of the police power, the assessment shall be upon a reasonable basis as determined by the Village Board.
To the extent that any special assessment on a lot is based on the linear footage of street frontage, and the street frontage is less than 90 feet as a result of a conditional use or variance granted after January 1, 1998, the special assessment for that lot shall be based on 90 feet of street frontage.
A. 
In addition to all other methods provided by law and in accordance with § 66.0627, Wis. Stats., special charges for current services may be imposed by the Village Board by allocating all or part of the cost of the service to the property served. Such service may include snow and ice removal, weed elimination, street sprinkling, oiling or tarring, repair of sidewalks or curb and gutter, garbage and refuse disposal, sewer service and tree care or removal or any other service as defined in § 66.0627(1)(c), Wis. Stats.
B. 
The Village Board may determine the manner of providing notice of a special charge. Before a special charge for street tarring or the repair of sidewalks, curbs or gutters may be imposed, the Village Board shall conduct a hearing on whether the service in question will be funded in whole or in part by a special charge. Notice of the hearing shall be given as provided in § 66.0627(3)(b), Wis. Stats.
C. 
A special charge is not payable in installments. If a special charge is not paid within the time determined by the Village Board, the special charge is delinquent. A delinquent special charge becomes a lien on the property against which it is imposed as of the date of delinquency. The delinquent special charge shall be included in the current or next tax roll for collection and settlement under Ch. 74, Wis. Stats.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).