60.79 Alteration of town sanitary districts.

(1) Incorporation or annexation of entire town sanitary district. If any territory which includes an entire town sanitary district is incorporated as a city or village or if the territory is annexed by a city or village:

(a) The incorporation or annexation dissolves the district without further action by the commission or the town board and without any right to appeal the dissolution.

(b) The property of the district passes to the city or village and the city or village shall assume all assets and liabilities of the district. If any revenue bond, revenue bond anticipation notes, mortgage bonds or mortgage certificates issued under s. 66.0621 are outstanding, the transfer of the property is subject to the bonds, notes or certificates. If any general obligation bonds or notes issued under ch. 67 are outstanding, the city or village shall levy and collect an annual irrepealable tax on all taxable property in the city or village in an amount necessary to pay the interest and principal of the bonds and notes when due.

(c) The city or village continues to collect special assessments levied by the former district and shall apply the special assessments to the purpose for which the original assessment was made.

(2) Incorporation or annexation of part of a town sanitary district.

(a) The incorporation or annexation of territory within the town sanitary district detaches that territory from the district.

(b) The city or village and the town sanitary district are subject to pars. (c) to (e) if territory constituting less than the entire town sanitary district is annexed or incorporated and:

1. The territory is served by the town sanitary district with a water or sewerage system; or

2. The territory is not served by the town sanitary district with a water or sewerage system, but the district has obligations related to the territory subject to incorporation or annexation which require payment for longer than one year following the incorporation or annexation.

(c) The city or village and the town sanitary district shall divide the assets and liabilities of the town sanitary district under s. 66.0235 or by entering into an intergovernmental cooperation agreement under s. 66.0301, except that the ownership of any water or sewerage system shall be determined under par. (dm).

(d)

1. Any water or sewerage system, including all mains and all property of the system, shall belong to and be operated by the district or the city or village, in whichever the major portion of the patrons reside on the date of annexation or incorporation, unless other provision is made by agreement of the governing body of the city or village and the commission. Express power is hereby granted to the governing body of the city or village and the commission to contract with each other relative to the operation and property of any water or sewerage system.

2. In determining the major portion of the patrons, each location served shall be considered as one patron irrespective of the manner in which the title to the property is held.

(dm) If the responsibility for continuing the operation is vested in the town sanitary district, it shall continue, except by agreement, until the proportion of users changes so that a majority of the patrons reside in the city or village, at which time the property and the responsibility shall shift to the city or village.

(e) Any special assessment levied before the incorporation or annexation shall continue to be collected by the district or city or village which is operating the water or sewerage system and shall be applied to the purpose for which the original assessment was made.

(3) Service area. No city or village which secures a water or sewerage system under this section is required to serve an area outside its corporate limits greater than that included in the town sanitary district at the time of annexation or incorporation. The city or village shall continue to serve the area previously included within the district.

(4) City or village authority. A city or village which obtains a water or sewerage system under this section may:

(a) Continue, alter or discontinue operation by a commission.

(b) Continue or discontinue existing methods of financing construction and operation of the system.

(c) Finance or refinance the system under s. 66.0621, 67.04 or 67.12.

(d) Levy special assessments within the area of the former town sanitary district under s. 66.0703. Special assessments may be levied regardless of the time when the improvement was commenced or completed, when used for refunding purposes in conjunction with issuance of general obligation-local improvement bonds under s. 67.16 or special assessment bonds under s. 66.0713 (4).

(5) Collection of special assessments by towns. Towns shall aid cities and villages, and villages and cities shall aid towns, in the levy and collection of special assessments, property taxes and all service charges under this section by entering them on town, city or village assessment and tax rolls and collecting and forwarding the moneys to the levying municipality.

History: 1983 a. 532; 1987 a. 197; 1989 a. 359; 1991 a. 315; 1995 a. 378; 1997 a. 237; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2001 a. 30.

Sub. (2) (b) requires selective rather than automatic application of subs. (2) (c) to (e). Town of Hallie v. City of Eau Claire, 173 Wis. 2d 450, 496 N.W.2d 656 (Ct. App. 1992).

Sub. (2) (d) is inapplicable to annexed property that contains no commercial or personal patrons of a town water system that runs through it. Under sub. (1) the annexed property lies within the annexing city's domain as a matter of law and the city bears the responsibility of providing water. Town of Sheboygan v. City of Sheboygan, 203 Wis. 2d 274, 553 N.W.2d 275 (Ct. App. 1996), 95-1839.

Although sub. (1) expressly precludes a sanitary district from taking any action to challenge an annexation when its entire territory has been subsumed by an annexation, the fact that sub. (2) is silent on such challenges does not require that sub. (2) must be interpreted to permit such challenges when only a partial taking of a sanitary district's territory has occurred. Darboy Joint Sanitary District No. 1 v. City of Kaukauna, 2013 WI App 113, 350 Wis. 2d 435, 838 N.W.2d 103, 12-2639.