33.25 Petition.

(1) Who to make.

(a) Before a county board may establish a district under s. 33.235 or 33.24, a petition requesting establishment shall be filed with the county clerk, addressed to the board and signed by persons constituting 51 percent of the landowners or the owners of 51 percent of the lands within the proposed district. Governmental subdivisions, other than the state or federal governments, owning lands within the proposed district are eligible to sign such petition. A city council or village or town board may by resolution represent persons owning lands within the proposed district who are within its jurisdiction, and sign for all such landowners.

(b) For a landowner that is a trust, foundation, corporation, association or organization, a petition under par. (a) shall be signed by an official representative, officer or employee who is authorized to do so by that landowner.

(2) Contents. The petition shall set forth:

(a) The proposed name of the district;

(b) The necessity for the proposed district;

(c) That the public health, comfort, convenience, necessity or public welfare will be promoted by the establishment of the district and that the lands to be included therein will be benefited by such establishment; and

(d) The boundaries of the territory to be included in the proposed district.

(3) Verification, plat. The petition shall be verified by one of the petitioners, and shall be accompanied by a plat or sketch indicating the approximate area and boundaries of the district.

(4) Presumption. Every petition is presumed to have been signed by the persons whose signatures appear thereon, until proved otherwise.

(5) Withdrawing from petition. Any landowner who is considered to have signed the petition under sub. (1) may withdraw from the petition if the landowner files a written notice of the withdrawal with the county clerk at least 10 days before the date of the hearing under s. 33.26.

History: 1973 c. 301; 1975 c. 197; 1993 a. 167, 246; 1995 a. 349.

The requirements for a verification under sub. (3) are that it is made under oath and carries the jurat of a notary public. Every person giving the oath is considered to have been lawfully sworn. Use of the word “certify" rather than “verify" is irrelevant. Nielsen v. Waukesha County Board of Supervisors, 178 Wis. 2d 498, 504 N.W.2d 621 (Ct. App. 1993).