[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Grant County 8-1-1972
(Ch. 12 of the Grant County Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 267.
Pursuant to § 342.40, Wis. Stats., as created by Chapter 131
of the Laws of 1971, the County Board of Supervisors of Grant County, Wisconsin,
hereby provides to County, state and municipal representatives a method for
disposal of abandoned vehicles found within the jurisdictional limits of Grant
County, Wisconsin.
No person shall leave unattended any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer,
or mobile home on any public highway or public or private property for such
time and under such circumstances as to cause the vehicle to reasonably appear
to have been abandoned.
Whenever any vehicle has been left unattended on any property without
the permission of the property owner or upon any public property or any public
highway for more than a period of 48 hours, the vehicle is deemed abandoned
and constitutes a public nuisance.
A.
Any vehicle in violation of this chapter shall be impounded until
lawfully claimed or disposed of as provided by this chapter, except that if
any duly authorized County or municipal representative determines that the
cost of towing and storage charges for the impoundment of such vehicle would
exceed the value of the vehicle, the vehicle may be junked by the County prior
to the expiration of the impoundment period upon the determination by the
Grant County Sheriff that the vehicle is not stolen or wanted for evidence
or other reason.
B.
Any municipal or university police officer, deputy sheriff, state
traffic officer, or conservation warden who discovers any motor vehicle, trailer,
semitrailer or mobile home on a public highway or private or public property
which has been abandoned shall cause the vehicle to be removed to a suitable
place of impoundment. Upon removal of the vehicle, the officer shall notify
the Sheriff or Chief of Police of the abandonment and of the location of the
impounded vehicle. Upon causing the removal of said vehicle by a towing service,
the officer shall, within 24 hours of ordering the removal, notify the towing
service of the name and last known address of the registered owner and all
lienholders of record of the vehicle, unless the officer is employed by a
municipality or county that has entered into a towing service agreement which
requires the municipality or county to provide notice to such owner and lienholders
of the towing.
The owner of any abandoned vehicle, except a stolen vehicle, is responsible
for the abandonment and all costs of impounding and disposing of the vehicle.
Costs not recovered from the sale of the vehicle may be recovered in a civil
action by the municipality against the owner.
A.
Any abandoned vehicle which is determined by a duly authorized
municipal or County representative to have a value in excess of $100 shall
be retained in storage for a period of 10 days after certified mail notice
has been sent to the owner and lienholders of record to permit reclamation
of the vehicle after payment of accrued charges. Thereafter the municipality
or County may dispose of the vehicle by sale.[1]
(1)
Such notice shall set forth the year, make, model, and serial
number of the abandoned motor vehicle and the place where the vehicle is being
held and shall inform the owner and any lienholders of their right to reclaim
the vehicle. The notice shall state that the failure of the owner or lienholders
to exercise their rights to reclaim the vehicle under this section shall be
deemed a waiver of all right, title, and interest in the vehicle and a consent
to the sale of the vehicle. Each retained vehicle not reclaimed by its owner
or lienholder may be sold. The municipality or county may dispose of the vehicle
by sealed bid or auction sale. At such sale the highest bid for any such motor
vehicle shall be accepted unless the same is deemed inadequate by a duly authorized
municipal or county representative, in which event all bids may be rejected.
If all bids are rejected or no bid is received, the municipality or county
may either readvertise the sale, adjourn the sale to a definite date, sell
the motor vehicle at a private sale or junk the vehicle. Any interested person
may offer bids on each abandoned vehicle to be sold.
(2)
Public notice shall be posted at the office of the Municipal
Police Department or the office of the County Sheriff. The posting of the
notice at the Police or Sheriff's Department shall be in the same form as
the certified mail notice sent to the owner or lienholders of record. Upon
sale of an abandoned vehicle, the municipality or county shall supply the
purchaser with a completed form designed by the Department of Transportation
enabling the purchaser to obtain a regular certificate of title for the vehicle.
The purchaser shall have 10 days to remove the vehicle from the storage area
but shall pay a reasonable storage fee established by the municipality or
county for each day the vehicle remains in storage after the second business
day subsequent to the sale date. Ten days after the sale, the purchaser shall
forfeit all interest in the vehicle and the vehicle shall be deemed to be
abandoned and may be sold again. Any listing of vehicles to be sold by any
municipality or county shall be made available to any interested person or
organization which makes a written request for such list. The municipality
or county may charge a fee for the list.
B.
Any abandoned vehicle which is determined by a duly authorized
municipal or County representative to have a value less than $100 may be disposed
of by direct sale to a licensed salvage dealer upon determination that the
vehicle is not reported stolen or wanted for evidence.[2]
C.
Within five days after sale or disposal of the vehicle as provided in Subsection A or B, the municipality or County shall advise the Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation, State of Wisconsin, of such sale or disposition on forms supplied by the Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation.
