174.09 Dog license fund; how disposed of and accounted for.

(1) Except as provided in sub. (3), the dog license taxes so paid to the county treasurer shall be kept in a separate account and shall be known as the “dog license fund" and shall be appropriated and disbursed for the purposes and in the manner following: Within 30 days after receipt of the same, the county treasurer shall pay into the state treasury 5 percent of the minimum tax as provided for under s. 174.05 (2) of all dog license taxes which shall have been received by the county treasurer.

(2) Except as provided in sub. (3), expenses necessarily incurred by the county in purchasing and providing books, forms, and other supplies required in administering the dog license law, expenses incurred by the county under s. 95.21 (4) (b) and (8) and expenses incurred by the county pound or by a humane society or other organization designated to provide a pound for collecting, caring for, and disposing of dogs may be paid out of the dog license fund. The amount remaining in the fund after deducting these expenses shall be available for and may be used as far as necessary for paying claims allowed by the county to the owners of domestic animals because of damages done by dogs during the license year for which the taxes were paid. Any surplus in excess of $1,000 which may remain from the dog license taxes of any license year shall on March 1 of the succeeding year be paid by the county treasurer to the county humane society or other organization designated by the county board to provide a pound. If there is no humane society or other organization designated to provide a pound, these funds shall be paid to the towns, villages, and cities of the county for their use in the proportion in which the towns, villages, and cities contributed to the fund out of which the surplus arises.

(3) In a county in which an agreement under s. 174.10 (2) is in effect, the intergovernmental commission shall maintain the dog license fund, consisting of the dog license taxes. The intergovernmental commission shall pay 5 percent of the minimum dog license tax provided for under s. 174.05 (2) to the department and shall expend the remainder of the dog license fund for the purposes of administering the dog license law, providing a pound for dogs, and paying claims allowed under s. 174.11. If on March 1 there is remaining in the dog license fund a surplus from the dog license taxes of the previous license year that exceeds 5 percent of the dog license taxes collected in that license year, the intergovernmental commission shall return the excess to the towns, villages, and cities of the county in the proportion in which the towns, villages, and cities contributed to the fund in that license year.

History: 1979 c. 289; 1981 c. 285; 1983 a. 451; 2003 a. 133.