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Tag Archives: Municipalities Digest

2010AP2159 Village of Little Chute v. Outagamie County Drainage Board

Municipalities Drainage boards; assessments The Village of Little Chute appeals from a judgment upholding upon certiorari review a reassessment by the Outagamie County Drainage Board for maintenance costs related to the Vandenbroek drainage district. The Village argues the reassessment rates were arbitrary, inequitable and disproportionate to benefits accruing from the project. We affirm. This opinion will not be published. 2010AP2159 ...

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2010AP1631 In re the Return of Property in: State v. Sweetalla

Municipalities Property return Lonnie Sweetalla appeals orders denying his motion for the return of property and the motion for reconsideration that followed. Because Sweetalla had no right to possess firearms at the time he filed his motions, we affirm. This opinion will not be published. 2010AP1631 In re the Return of Property in: State v. Sweetalla Dist I, Milwaukee County, ...

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2009AP1714 Emjay Investment Co. v. Village of Germantown

Municipalities Special assessments; statute of limitations An aggrieved property owner must strictly comply with the 90-day period of appeal in sec. 66.0703(12)(a) or forfeit the right to appeal. “The legislature has explicitly directed that an appeal under Wis. Stat. § 66.0703(12) is the ‘sole remedy’ of a property owner aggrieved by a special assessment levied under § 66.0703: An appeal ...

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2010AP897 Hildebrand v. Town of Menasha

Municipalities Special assessments A recreational trail is not a local improvement for which a municipality may levy special assessments. “The Hildebrands successfully rebutted any presumption of the validity of the assessment and showed that the primary purpose of the trail—to complete the trail system in Winnebago county—confers a general, not local, benefit under the law. Assuming, for the sake of ...

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2009AP3036 North Twin Builders, LLC, v. Town of Phelps

Municipalities Competitive bidding An unsuccessful bidder for a municipal contract is not required to seek injunctive relief before suing to recover the costs for preparing the bid. “Accepting the rule proposed by the Town would foreclose judicial review in a case, like this one, where the municipality violates the competitive bidding statute but quickly signs a contract and directs the ...

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2010AP2167 Village of Menomonee Falls v. Ferguson

Municipalities Sex offender registries; grandfather clauses A registered sex offender who may stay at one residence pursuant to a grandfather clause may not move to another residence within the residency restriction. “[I]f this court were to interpret the Village Ordinance’s grandfather clause to apply to Ferguson as an individual instead of his residence, the purpose of the Village Ordinance would ...

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2008AP3182 Ottman v. Town of Primrose

Municipalities Judicial review Where the language of a municipality’s ordinance appears to be unique and does not parrot a state statute but rather was drafted by the municipality in an effort to address a local concern, courts should defer to the municipality’s interpretation if it is reasonable. “A central consideration in administrative agency cases is whether the agency has been ...

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2010AP1162 Highway J Citizens Group U.A. v. Village of Richfield

Municipalities Annexation; standing Highway J Citizens Group (HJCG) appeals from a judgment dismissing its complaint challenging the annexation of property in the Town of Polk by the Village of Richfield. The circuit court determined that HJCG lacked standing to challenge the annexation. HJCG argues it has standing because the annexation causes its members pecuniary injury and some of its members ...

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2010AP1186 Smerz v. Delafield Town Board

Municipalities Discontinuation of alleys; standing A property owner whose property does not abut a discontinued alley has no standing to challenge the discontinuance. “Even though he does not assert that any of the objectors’ land abuts the  discontinued segments, Smerz argues that he nonetheless has standing because of  a single sentence in § 66.1003(3): ‘The beginning and ending of an ...

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2010AP2193-FT City of Shawano v. Sense

Municipalities Liquor licenses Darlene Sense was convicted of violating a municipal ordinance that prohibits refusal to permit inspection of premises that are subject to a liquor license. Sense argues she could not be found guilty of the ordinance violation because: (1) she was cited for an action not contemplated by the ordinance; (2) there was insufficient proof she violated the ...

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2010AP1987 Vitrano v. Milwaukee Police Department

Municipalities Notice of claim Thomas Vitrano, pro se, appeals the dismissal of his small claims action against the Milwaukee Police Department for return of property taken during the execution of a search warrant. Because we conclude that Vitrano failed to name a suable defendant and failed to properly file a notice of his claim, we affirm. This opinion will not ...

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2010AP70 Acevedo v. City of Kenosha

Municipalities Zoning; certiorari Certiorari review of a zoning decision must be sought against the zoning board of appeals, not the municipality. “Looking first at the city planning statute, Wis. Stat. § 62.23(7)(e)10. provides: Any person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the board of appeals, or any taxpayer, or any officer, department, board or bureau of ...

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