83.03 County aid; local levy; donations.

(1) The county board may construct or improve or repair or aid in constructing or improving or repairing any highway or bridge in the county.

(2) If any county board determines to improve any portion of a county trunk highway with county funds, it may assess not more than 40 percent of the cost of the improvement but not over $1,000 in any year against the town, village or city in which the improvement is located as a special tax. The county clerk shall certify the tax to the town, village or city clerk who shall put the same in the next tax roll, and it shall be collected and paid into the county treasury as other county taxes are levied, collected and paid. A portion or all of such special assessment may be paid by donation.

(3) The county board may accept donations to the county of money or lands for highway or bridge purposes, and apply the donations in accordance with the wishes of the donor as nearly as is practicable.

(4) Any county may, by any lawful means, provide funds to match or supplement state or federal aid for the construction, reconstruction or improvement, under ch. 84, of any highway, street or bridge which it is authorized to construct, reconstruct or improve, and to pay such funds to the department or state treasury as provided in s. 84.03 (1) (b).

History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (8) (c); 1985 a. 29; 1985 a. 223 s. 5.

Sub. (2) prohibits a county from imposing upon municipalities to share the cost of county road and bridge repair; it does not release a municipality from a voluntary agreement to contribute. Fond du Lac County v. Town of Rosendale, 149 Wis. 2d 326, 440 N.W.2d 818 (Ct. App. 1989).

A county board in a county with a county executive cannot enact an ordinance precluding the highway commissioner from determining that the county highway department will perform any of the work on any joint county highway project under ss. 83.03 and 83.035 if a contracting local municipality requests that all of the work on the project be competitively bid and let to private companies. OAG 2-11.