Local Call

Board of Review WisLine Training is coming again in April and May 2013 from UW-Extension Local Government Center.  This time it will arrive wherever you want to learn.  You will no longer have to attend at a WisLine site, but can listen in your office, home or wherever you have access to a telephone.  When you register you will receive an email that will include program materials in PDF format, a toll free number and a passcode to join the program.  For an additional fee, printed materials can be sent to you through the mail.

The program is part of the Local Government Essentials WisLine Series.  You can register online or by phone at (608) 262-0810 for anyone of four WisLine broadcasts.   The WisLine program is includes recorded lectures, demonstrations and question-and-answer session with our expert presenters.  The program will satisfy the Department of Revenue certified training requirement for Board of Review.  The WisLine is scheduled for the following dates and times:

• Tuesday, April 23, 2013 (10:30 am – 12:50 pm)
• Tuesday, April 30, 2013 (10:30 am – 12:50 pm)
• Thursday, May 2, 2013 (10:30 am – 12:50 pm)
• Tuesday, May 7, 2013 (10:30 am – 12:50 pm)

If you cannot make a live broadcast, you can also register for a CD recording and the PDF materials of the program.   Listening to the recording also satisfies the Department of Revenue certification requirement.

What is board of review training?  Read more »

Though Alan Probst recently resigned his Local Government Specialist position at the Local Government Center to assume a position at the Pentagon, the Center and UW-Extension continue to benefit from Al’s work.  The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) recently published Alan’s article, “Managing in a Labor Contract Void,” in the on-line edition of Public Management Magazine.  The article provides practical information to local government managers who find themselves managing without a union contract.  Frankly, the leadership and management advice that Alan offers would be of use to a manager in any organization, public or private, facing challenging times.  To read the article, click here.

Thanks, Al!

UW Extension’s Local Government Center has updated its fact sheet titled County Government in Wisconsin History & Background and created a new fact sheet:  Limits of County Board Administrative Authority.  Fact sheets are brief publications covering specific topics and offer a ready and accessible source of information.   These and other Fact sheets are available on the Center’s Web site.

Wisconsin residents know they live in a county, that county’s name and usually where the courthouse is located.  The details of county government structure may not be so readily understood, or county officials may be looking for clarification of their responsibilities.   There may be specific questions about county government structure and operation, such as:

• What are the differences between county executives, county administrators and county administrative coordinators?
• What are Read more »

Is that email the town clerk just sent to the town chair a public record?  Is the city’s economic development corporation required to respond to open records requests?  Is a local government required to post a public records policy? Where can you begin to search the answers to these and other Public Records Law questions?  Try starting with two new online resources that were updated in September 2012.

The Local Government Center updated its Public Records Law Fact Sheet number 7 and it is available online.  The 17 page overview introduces Public Records Law (often also referred to as “Open Records Law”) to local officials or citizens, with enough detail to serve as a ready reference guide for any public official or employee.  The answers to the opening questions, above, can be found in the fact sheet.

Another resource has also been recently updated: Public Records Law Compliance Outline  from Wisconsin Attorney General’s office. Read more »

Is this your first time preparing a budget with your Local Government?  Or are you looking for a refresher or an update?  A recording of a September 2012 the webinar “Developing the Annual Budget” is  available on your home or office on your computer with an Internet connection.  Gain not only a good understanding of what policies and rules that apply but also the “how’s” and “why’s” of local government budgets. The webinar coveresd:

• Statutory requirements and procedures
• Fund accounting
• Necessary considerations, such as revenue projection and debt management, budget components and how each part/fund relates to the entire budget.

The streaming video of this program is available for $35 at  The Learning Store.

Each year, Carol Doran of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue would travel around the state and put on free half-day workshops for town clerks about how to complete their Form CT financial report.  With Carol’s retirement and no replacement yet in position, there will be no live workshops this year.  Carol did conduct a WisLine program called “Completing the Financial Report Form C” on March 3, 2009 and that is still available to you!  Go to the UW-Extension Learning Store  to order the online program and materials.  If you would like to order the CD and materials, please complete this order form and mail to the Local Government Center.    Read more »

March 12, 2012 ,Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess found Wisconsin’s Act 23, the Voter ID law, in violation of the right to vote under the Wisconsin Constitution, and permanently enjoined its enforcement.  In another case ,on March 6, Dane County Judge David Flanagan entered a preliminary injunction halting implementation of 2011 Wisconsin Act 23.   Trial is set for April 16^th to decide the lawsuit challenging law.  You can read preliminary injunction decision here.

The Government Accountability Board issued a statement that only those provisions of 2011 Wisconsin Act 23 that deal with photo identification will be considered under temporary injunction and that all other provisions of the law are still valid, including residency requirements and the need for voters to sign the poll list.  The Board also issued a memo to all Wisconsin municipal and county clerks detailing how the temporary injunction may affect the April 3^rd elections.

The Attorney General’s Office has stated that they plan to appeal both decision.  There are four different court challenges to the voter identification law in Wisconsin by different groups, so the applicability of the law or portions of it may be in question at different times.  Check the Government Accountability Board homepage for updates on the status of the voter identification law.

 Kate Lawton

A lawsuit challenging whether a town without a zoning ordinance could license and regulate non-metallic mining was decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on February 8, 2012.  The Town of Cooks Valley claimed its ordinance was enacted under its police powers as an exercise of town village powers.  Zwiefelhofer and other land owners in the town filed a lawsuit alleging that under Wisconsin law this was a zoning ordinance, and the town had not followed the required legal steps to enact a valid zoning ordinance.  The Supreme Court disagreed, saying it was not a zoning ordinance, but a valid exercise of police powers allowed as part of town village powers.

Professor Brian Ohm of the UW Madison and the UW Extension prepared a summary and analysis of the case.    It is reprinted below.  You may also see an article on the Wisconsin Bar Association web site.  The entire Zwiefelhor v Town of Cooks Valley decision is also available online.

The Local Government Center has available a recorded WisLine presentation “Sand and Other Nonmetallic Mining: Issues and Regulation” available with materials for purchase.   Here is Brian Ohm’s summary report: Read more »

The January 2012 cover story of Wisconsin Counties Magazine, the monthly publication of the Wisconsin Counties Association, is the 100^th Anniversary of University of Wisconsin Extension.  Sharing the limelight with Extension is an article focusing on the 20^th anniversary of the Local Government Center.  Written by former Center Director, Professor Emeritus David Hines, the article chronicles the origin and progress of the Center over the past two decades.  The entire article on Extension’s 100^th and the Local Governments Center’s 20^th are online, or Dave’s article is reprinted here. Read more »

An opportunity for detailed instruction on critical  subjects for local officials and staff is now available in CD bundles.  The live programs of  Open Government and Parliamentary Procedure WisLine Series are now completed.  But materials and recordings of the programs are always available.  You can choose programs on Open Meetings Law, and Public Records, Public Official Ethics or gain more confidence conducting or participating in meetings by attending the WisLine course on Parliamentary Procedure.  Instructors include attorneys from the Wisconsin Towns, Association, League of Municipalities, Wisconsin Justice Department and the UW Extension.

Larry Larmer taught a four program course on Parliamentary Procedure, and registration includes at a one-time special discount Larry’s book written especially for Wisconsin local governments.  Recorded programs are on CD or streamed through the Internet.  Find out more at the Local Government Center Web Site.

Philip Freeburg