90.11 Cost of repairs.

(1)

(a) Whenever any owner or occupant of land has built, repaired or rebuilt any fence, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, that the adjoining owner or occupant has been lawfully directed by fence viewers to build, repair or rebuild but has failed to do within the time prescribed, the owner or occupant who built, repaired or rebuilt the fence may complain to any 2 or more fence viewers of the town.

(b) The fence viewers complained to under par. (a) shall, after having given notice to the defaulting adjoining owner or occupant as provided in s. 90.07, examine the fence and ascertain the expense of building, repairing or rebuilding the fence. If the fence viewers adjudge the fence sufficient they shall give to the complaining party a certificate under their hands of their decision and of the amount of the expense of building, repairing or rebuilding the fence and of the fees of the fence viewers.

(c) Upon receipt of the fence viewers' certificate, the complaining party may demand the amount of the expense determined by the fence viewers, together with the fence viewers' fees, from the defaulting, adjoining owner or occupant. If the adjoining owner or occupant fails to pay the expenses and fees for one month after the complaining party has demanded payment, the amount of expenses and fees together with interest at the rate of 1 percent per month shall constitute a special charge and lien against the adjoining owner's or occupant's lands and may be recovered in the manner provided in sub. (2).

(2)

(a) The complaining party may file the certificate executed and delivered to him or her under sub. (1) (b) with the clerk of the town in which the lands charged with the expense and fees set forth in the certificate are located. Upon the filing of the certificate, the town clerk shall issue a warrant for the amount of the listed expenses and fees upon the town treasurer payable to the person to whom the certificate was executed and delivered.

(b) The amount paid by the town treasurer under par. (a) together with interest at the rate of 1 percent per month shall be included by the town clerk in the next tax roll as a special charge against the lands charged with the expense and fees. The special charge shall be collected by the town treasurer with the other taxes in the town. Any special charge under this paragraph remaining unpaid shall be added to the list of delinquent taxes returned to the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall collect the delinquent special charge or sell the land as for delinquent taxes. All proceedings in relation to the sale of land for a delinquent special charge shall be the same in all respects as in the case of land sold for other delinquent taxes. Every county treasurer who shall collect or receive any moneys on account of delinquent charges under this subsection shall pay the moneys received to the treasurer of the proper town.

History: 1991 a. 316; 1997 a. 253.

The remedy in this section is the exclusive remedy available for the recovery of costs of repairing a fence that an adjoining owner or occupant had been lawfully directed by fence viewers to build or repair. The fence viewers' determination of recoverable expenses is subject to common law certiorari review. Tomaszewski v. Giera, 2003 WI App 65, 260 Wis. 2d 569, 659 N.W.2d 882, 02-2409.

This chapter's plain language, when read in light of s. 990.01 (42), unambiguously authorizes a city to administer the enforcement procedures of this chapter. White v. City of Watertown, 2019 WI 9, 385 Wis. 2d 320, 922 N.W.2d 61, 16-2259.