82.21 Highways on and across town and municipal lines.

(1) Initiating the procedure. The procedure to lay out, alter, or discontinue a highway on the line between a town and another town, a city, or a village, or a highway extending from one town into an adjoining town, city, or village, shall begin only when one of the following occurs in each affected municipality:

(a) Six resident freeholders of the town, city, or village deliver an application to lay out, alter, or discontinue a town line highway to the clerk of every town, city, or village that would be affected by the proposal.

(b) The town board, city council, or village board introduces a resolution to lay out, alter, or discontinue a town line highway.

(2) Contents of the application or resolution. An application or resolution under sub. (1) shall contain a legal description of the highway to be discontinued or of the proposed highway to be laid out or altered and a scale map of the land that would be affected by the application. Upon completion of the requirements of sub. (1), the governing bodies of the municipalities, acting together in cooperation, but voting upon applications or resolutions as separate governing bodies, shall proceed under ss. 82.10 to 82.13.

(3) Appointment of city or village commissioners. Upon receipt of an application or introduction of a resolution, the city council or village board may appoint 3 commissioners to act on behalf of the affected city or village in all respects. The commissioners shall be duly sworn to faithfully discharge their duties as commissioners before entering upon those duties.

(4) Apportionment of authority and responsibility.

(a) A highway order issued by 2 towns or by a town and a city or village may designate the part of the highway that each shall construct and repair, and pay the damages for, if any. As to the portion of the highway that the town, city, or village agrees to construct, keep in repair, and pay damages for, the town, city, or village shall have all of the authority and be subject to all of the responsibility in relation to that part of the highway as if that part were wholly located in the town, city, or village.

(b) Two town boards or a town board and a city council or village board, meeting together, may make an order in accordance with par. (a) apportioning or reapportioning the authority and responsibility for a town line highway or any part of a town line highway that they consider advisable, if any of the following conditions exists:

1. No apportionment has been made in a highway order.

2. The highway or part of the highway had its origin in user.

3. In the judgment of the town boards, or the town board and the city council or village board, circumstances have been so altered since the last apportionment of the highway or part of the highway that the current apportionment has been rendered inequitable or impracticable.

(c) An order made under par. (b) shall be filed with the clerk of each affected municipality and shall have the same effect as an apportionment made in connection with the original highway order.

(d) Any written order or agreement made before August 27, 1947, by a majority of the supervisors of each town concerned, acting together, apportioning, or reapportioning a town line highway has the same effect as though made on or after August 27, 1947.

(5) Appeal of apportionment.

(a) If an order laying out or altering a town line highway has not apportioned the authority and responsibility for the highway or if a municipality considers the current apportionment to be inequitable, an affected municipality may apply to the circuit judge of the county in which the affected municipality is located, for the appointment of 3 commissioners to apportion the authority and responsibility between each affected municipality. The municipality filing the application shall serve a copy of the application on the clerk of each municipality to be affected. The circuit judge may set the time and place of the hearing before the commissioners at least 10 days after the application is filed with the judge.

(b) Upon receipt of an application under par. (a), the circuit judge shall appoint 3 residents of the county as commissioners. The commissioners shall, on not less than 10 days' notice nor more than 60 days' notice in writing to the clerk of each affected municipality, apportion the authority and responsibility of each affected municipality on account of the highway. The commissioners shall make the determination in writing and shall file the determination with the clerk of each affected municipality. The commissioners' determination shall have the same effect as an order made under sub. (4).

(6) Where papers filed. All awards, notices, and papers required to be filed shall be filed in the office of the clerk of each affected municipality. Any highway orders issued under this section shall be recorded with the register of deeds for any county in which the highway is or will be located.

History: 2003 a. 214 ss. 46 to 53, 58, 60, 169; 2015 a. 11.

NOTE: 2003 Wis. Act 214, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.

“Acting together" in sub. (2) does not require that separate votes taken by two governing bodies in deciding an application to lay out, alter, or discontinue a public highway on or across municipal lines be counted in the aggregate as if the two bodies voted as one. Approval of both boards is necessary to approve an application. Dawson v. Town of Jackson, 2011 WI 77, 336 Wis. 2d 318, 801 N.W.2d 316, 09-0120.