66.0501 Eligibility for office.

(1) Deputy sheriffs and municipal police. No person may be appointed deputy sheriff of any county or police officer for any city, village or town unless that person is a citizen of the United States. This section does not apply to common carriers or to a deputy sheriff not required to take an oath of office.

(2) Eligibility of other officers. Except as expressly authorized by statute, no member of a town, village or county board, or city council, during the term for which the member is elected, is eligible for any office or position which during that term has been created by, or the selection to which is vested in, the board or council, but the member is eligible for any elective office. The governing body may be represented on city, village or town boards and commissions where no additional compensation, except a per diem, is paid to the representatives of the governing body and may fix the tenure of these representatives notwithstanding any other statutory provision. A representative of a governing body who is a member of a city, village or town board or commission may receive a per diem only if the remaining members of the board or commission may receive a per diem. This subsection does not apply to a member of any board or council described in this subsection who resigns from the board or council before being appointed to an office or position which was not created during the member's term in office.

(3) Appointments on consolidation of offices. Whenever offices are consolidated, the occupants of which are members of the same statutory committee or board and which are serving in that office because of holding another office or position, the common council or village board may designate another officer or officers or make any additional appointments as may be necessary to procure the number of committee or board members provided for by statute.

(4) Compatible offices and positions.

(a) A volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical services practitioner, or emergency medical responder in a city, village, or town whose annual compensation from one or more of those positions, including fringe benefits, does not exceed $25,000 if the city, village, or town has a population of 5,000 or less, or $15,000 if the city, village, or town has a population of more than 5,000, may also hold an elective office in that city, village, or town. It is compatible with his or her office for an elected town officer to receive wages under s. 60.37 (4) for work that he or she performs for the town.

(b) It is compatible with his or her office for a local public official, as defined in s. 19.42 (7x), to serve as an election official appointed under s. 7.30 (2) (a) and be compensated for that service, as provided under s. 7.03.

(5) Employees may be candidates.

(a) In this subsection:

1. “Political subdivision" means a city, village, town, or county.

2. “Public employee" means any individual employed by a political subdivision, other than an individual to whom s. 164.06 applies and other than an individual to whom 5 USC 1502 (a) (3) applies.

(b) No political subdivision may prohibit a public employee from being a candidate for any elective public office, if that individual is otherwise qualified to be a candidate. No public employee may be required, as a condition of being a candidate for any elective public office, to take a leave of absence during his or her candidacy. This subsection does not affect the authority of a political subdivision to regulate the conduct of a public employee while the public employee is on duty or otherwise acting in an official capacity.

History: 1979 c. 110; 1987 a. 27, 403; 1991 a. 316; 1993 a. 246; 1999 a. 56; 1999 a. 150 s. 267; Stats. 1999 s. 66.0501; 2001 a. 16; 2003 a. 79; 2015 a. 341; 2017 a. 12, 326.

A citizenship requirement for peace officers is constitutional. 68 Atty. Gen. 61.

The offices of commissioner of a town sanitary district and supervisor of a town board are incompatible when the town board also serves as the appointing authority for the commissioners. 69 Atty. Gen. 108.

A sitting member of a county board must resign the office of supervisor before being appointed to the permanent position of county administrative coordinator under this section. OAG 1-11.