17.12 Removal and suspension of city officers.

(1) General and special charter. Officers of cities, except public officials, as defined in s. 62.51 (1) (b), operating under the general law or under special charter including school officers, may be removed as follows:

(a) Elective. Elective officers by recall as provided in s. 9.10, or by the common council, for cause.

(c) Appointed officers. An appointed officer may be removed in any of the following manners:

1. An officer appointed by the common council, by the common council, at pleasure.

2. An officer appointed by an officer or body other than the common council, whether or not the appointment was confirmed by the common council, in any of the following manners:

a. By the appointing officer or body, at pleasure.

b. By the common council, for cause.

(cm) Board of police and fire commissioners. Notwithstanding par. (c), a member of a board of police and fire commissioners who is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the common council may be removed by the common council, for cause.

(d) Votes required. Removals by the common council may be made only by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members thereof, and by any other body consisting of 3 or more members, by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the members thereof.

(2) Commission form. Officers of cities operating under the commission form of government may be removed as follows:

(a) Elective. Elective officers by recall as provided in s. 9.10.

(c) Appointive. Appointive officers, by whomsoever appointed, by the council, at pleasure, by a majority vote; and officers appointed by any officer or body other than the council may also be removed from office by the officer or body that appointed them, at pleasure, by vote as provided in sub. (1) (d).

(3) Suspension. The mayor of any city may summarily suspend from office any officer thereof whose removal is sought and against whom charges have been preferred therefor, and may appoint an officer to discharge the duties of such office until such charges have been disposed of. If such charges are dismissed, the officer so suspended shall thereby be restored to office and be entitled to the emoluments of the office for all of the time the officer would have served therein had the officer not been suspended.

(3m) Common council authority. Notwithstanding subs. (1) and (2) and subject to sub. (4), a city may by ordinance provide that any appointed city officer may be removed only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, official misconduct, or malfeasance in office.

(4) General exception. But no officer of any city, appointed according to merit and fitness under and subject to a civil service or to a police and fire commission law, or whose removal is governed by such a law, shall be removed otherwise than as therein provided.

History: 1987 a. 382; 1991 a. 316; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2017 a. 150.

City officers are subject to s. 17.03 vacancy provisions. Wellnitz v. Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commissioners, 151 Wis. 2d 306, 444 N.W.2d 412 (Ct. App. 1989).