59.14 Publication of ordinances and proceedings.

(1) Whenever a board enacts an ordinance under this chapter the clerk shall immediately publish the ordinance either in its entirety, as a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, or as a notice, as described under sub. (1m) (b); and the clerk shall procure and distribute copies of the ordinance to the several town clerks, who shall file it in their respective offices.

(1m)

(a) In this subsection, “summary" means a brief, precise, and plain-language description that can be easily understood.

(b) A notice of an ordinance that may be published under this subsection shall be published as a class 1 notice under ch. 985 and shall contain at least all of the following:

1. The number and title of the ordinance.

2. The date of enactment.

3. A summary of the subject matter and main points of the ordinance.

4. Information as to where the full text of the ordinance may be obtained, including the phone number of the county clerk, a street address where the full text of the ordinance may be viewed, and a website, if any, at which the ordinance may be accessed.

(2) The board shall, by ordinance or resolution, provide for publication in one or more newspapers in the county as a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, a certified copy of all its proceedings had at any meeting, regular or special; said publication to be completed within 60 days after the adjournment of each session.

(3) The board may at any meeting, regular or special, provide by resolution for the publication in pamphlet form by the lowest and best bidder therefor, of a sufficient and designated number of copies of its duly certified proceedings, for general distribution.

(4) The board may order public notices relating to tax redemption and other affairs of the county to be published in a newspaper printed in any other than the English language, to be designated in such order, whenever the board considers it necessary for the better information of the inhabitants of the county, and it shall appear from the last previous census that one-fourth or more of the adult population of the county is of a nationality not speaking the English language, and that there shall have been a newspaper published in the county continuously for one year or more in the language spoken by that nationality; but all of the notices shall also be published in a newspaper published in the English language as provided by law. The compensation for all of the publications shall be paid by the county ordering the publications, and shall be the same as that prescribed by law for publication in the English language; and no extra charge shall be allowed for translation in any case. No irregularity, mistake or informality in any such publication shall affect the validity or regularity of any tax redemptions or other legal proceedings.

History: 1987 a. 378; 1995 a. 201 s. 244; Stats. 1995 s. 59.14; 2007 a. 72; 2017 a. 365 s. 112.

Sub. (1) is discussed in reference to the effect of the failure to distribute and the requirements of distribution and publication. 62 Atty. Gen. 81.

Codification and publication of ordinances is discussed. 70 Atty. Gen. 124.

A county with a population of less that 250,000 is not required to designate an official newspaper. A county is not required to seek bids for the publication of legal notices. Even if a county does not competitively bid the publication of its own proceedings as provided in sub. (3), it may print its own proceedings or post them on its website. A county may not, in lieu of publication in a printed newspaper or posting on a physical bulletin board, post its legal notices on its official website. OAG 2-08.