Village of Benton, WI Offenses Against Property

Any person 18 years of age or over who violates this section is subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-3, restitution to the injured party, and the costs of prosecution.

Any person 12 years of age to 17 years of age shall be subject to a forfeiture not to exceed $25 and any other applicable penalty provided by § 938.344, Wis. Stats., as that section may exist, be amended.

Victim remedies. Any person or entity injured by a violation of this section by a minor child shall be advised of the rights and remedies available under § 895.035, Wis. Stats.

§ 240-19 Littering prohibited.

Littering prohibited. No person shall throw any glass, refuse or waste, filth or other litter upon the streets, alleys, highways, public parks or other property of the Village of Benton, or upon property within the Village owned by the school district or any private person, or upon the surface of any body of water within the Village.

Litter from conduct of commercial enterprise.

Scope. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to all sales, promotions and other commercial ventures that result in litter being deposited on any street, alley or other public way.

Litter to be cleaned up. Any person, firm, corporation or association carrying on an enterprise that results in litter being deposited on any street, alley or other public way shall clean up the same within 12 hours of the time the same is deposited. If any such litter is subject to being blown about, it shall be picked up immediately. If any such litter is likely to attract animals or vermin, such litter shall be picked up immediately.

Litter picked up at litterer's expense. If any person, firm, corporation or association fails to pick up any litter as required by Subsection B(2) within the time specified, the Village shall arrange to have the same picked up by Village crews or by private enterprise. The entire expense of picking up such litter, together with an additional charge of 20% for administrative expenses, shall be charged to the person, firm, corporation or association that did the littering. If such sum is not promptly paid, steps shall be taken, with the advice of the Village Attorney's office, to collect the same. This charge shall be in addition to any forfeiture or other penalty for violation of this section.

Depositing of materials prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit, cause or permit to be deposited, placed or parked any vegetation, grass, leaves, foliage, earth, sand, gravel, water, snow, ice, debris, waste material, foreign substance, construction materials, equipment or object upon any street, sidewalk or public property without authorization of the Village Board or Director of Public Works according to the provisions of this Code, or upon any private property without the consent of the owner or lessee of the property. Any person who deposits, causes or permits to be deposited, placed or parked any such materials, equipment or objects upon any street, sidewalk or property shall be responsible to properly mark or barricade the area so as to prevent a safety hazard.

Handbills.

Scattering prohibited. It shall be unlawful to deliver any handbills, newspapers, or advertising material to any premises in the Village in a manner that would allow them to be blown about, becoming scattered or in any way causing litter.

Papers in public places prohibited. It shall be unlawful to leave any handbills, advertising material or newspapers unattended in any street, alley, public building or other public place. This section is not meant to prohibit the sale of newspapers in vending machines.

§ 240-20 Abandoned refrigerators prohibited.

No person shall leave or permit to remain outside of any dwelling, building or other structure, or within any unoccupied or abandoned building, dwelling or other structure under his or her control in a place accessible to children any abandoned, unattended or discarded ice box, refrigerator or other container which has an airtight door or lid, snap lock or other locking device which may not be released from the inside without first removing said door or lid, snap lock or other locking device from said ice box, refrigerator or container, unless such container is displayed for sale on the premises of the owner or his or her agent and is securely locked or fastened.

§ 240-21 Theft of library material.

Definitions. For the purposes of this section, certain words and terms are defined as follows:

ARCHIVES

A place in which public or institutional records are systematically preserved.

LIBRARY

Any public library, library of an educational or historical organization or society or museum, and specifically the public libraries within the Village of Benton and school libraries.

LIBRARY MATERIAL

Includes any book, plate, picture, photograph, engraving, painting, drawing, map, newspaper, magazine, pamphlet, broadside, a manuscript, document, letter, public record, microform, sound recording, audiovisual materials in any format, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data processing records, or other tapes, artifacts or other documents, written or printed materials, regardless of physical form of characteristics, belonging to, on loan to or otherwise in the custody of a library.

Possession without consent prohibited. Whoever intentionally takes and carries away, transfers, conceals or retains possession of any library material without the consent of a library official, agent or employee and with intent to deprive the library of possession of the material may be subject to a forfeiture as provided by the general penalty provisions of this Code. The failure to return library material after its proper return date, after written notice from the library and Village Attorney, shall be deemed to be theft. Notice shall be considered given when written notice is mailed to the last-known address of the person with the overdue material; the notice date shall be the date of mailing.

Concealment. The concealment of library material beyond the last station for borrowing library material in a library is evidence of intent to deprive the library of possession of the material. The discovery of library material which has not been borrowed in accordance with the library's procedures or taken with consent of a library official, agent or employee and which is concealed upon the person or among the belongings of another is evidence of intentional concealment on the part of the person so concealing the material.

Detention based on probable cause. An official or adult employee or agent of a library who has probable cause for believing that a person has violated this section in his or her presence may detain the person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time to deliver the person to a law enforcement officer or to the person's parent or guardian in the case of a minor. The detained person shall be promptly informed of the purpose of the detention and be permitted to make telephone calls, but shall not be interrogated or searched against his or her will before the arrival of a law enforcement officer who may conduct a lawful interrogation of the accused person. Compliance with this section entitles the official, agent or employee effecting the detention to the same defense in any action as is available to a peace officer making an arrest in the line of duty.

Damaging material prohibited. No person shall mar, deface or in any other way damage or mutilate any book, periodical, pamphlet, picture or other article or property belonging to or in charge of the library. Any person convicted of violating this subsection shall be subject to the penalties as set forth in § 1-3.

Return demanded. No person shall fail, on demand, to return any book, periodical, pamphlet, picture or other articles or property belonging to or in charge of the public library according to the rules or regulations duly made and adopted by the Library Board and no person shall remove from the library any book, periodical, pamphlet, picture or other articles or property without first having it charged as provided by such rules and regulations. Any person convicted of violating any provision of this subsection shall be subject to the penalties as set forth in § 1-3.

§ 240-22 Cemetery regulations.

Purpose and definition. In order to protect cemetery areas within the Village from injury, damage or desecration, these regulations are enacted. The term "cemetery" as hereinafter used in this section shall include all cemetery property, grounds, equipment and structures, both privately and publicly owned, which are located within the Village of Benton.

Authority to establish rules and regulations. The cemetery property owner shall have the authority to establish reasonable rules and regulations to regulate and govern the operation of any cemetery in accordance with state law and this Code. The cemetery property owner shall reserve the right to prohibit and regulate the planting or placement of any flowers, plants, vines, shrubs, trees, flower pots, urns or other objects on cemetery property. Placements of any such plantings, containers or objects shall be in accordance with established regulations of the cemetery property owner.

Specific regulations.

Disturbing cemetery property. No person shall cut, remove, damage or carry away any flowers, plants, vines, shrubs or trees from any cemetery lot or property except the owner of the cemetery lot or a person with the cemetery lot owner's consent or any cemetery employee or representative engaged in official cemetery duties for the cemetery owner; nor shall any person without proper authority remove, deface, mark or damage in any manner any cemetery markers, headstones, monuments, fences or structures; nor shall any person without proper authority remove, damage or destroy any vases, flower pots, urns or other objects which have been placed on any cemetery lot; nor shall any person move or remove any cemetery equipment without the owner's consent.

Protection of cemetery property. No person shall trap in any cemetery without specific written authorization of the owner; nor shall any person kill, injure or disturb or attempt to injure or disturb, any animals, birds or waterfowl, wild or domestic within any cemetery in any manner except as provided by this Code; nor shall any person climb any tree, break, cut down, trample upon, remove or in any manner injure, deface, write upon or in any manner damage any tree, shrub, flower, flower bed, turf, grassy area, soil, building, structure, equipment, official notice, sign or other property within any cemetery. No picnic, parties, or similar gatherings are permitted.

Motor vehicles. Motor vehicles are restricted to the roads and drives and parking areas. Except for authorized maintenance vehicles, no person shall operate an unlicensed or licensed motorized vehicle on any cemetery property outside of areas specifically designated as parking areas or areas where the operation of such vehicles is specifically permitted. It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in any off-roadway operation of a motorized vehicle on cemetery property without the owner's consent.

(4)

Speed limit. No person shall operate any motorized vehicle in any cemetery in excess of 15 miles per hour unless otherwise posted.

(5)

Parking. No person, without the owner's consent, shall park any motor vehicle in any cemetery on any grassy or seeded area or upon any location except a designated parking area; nor shall any person park a motor vehicle on cemetery property for any purpose except engaging in official cemetery business. Any unlawfully parked motor vehicle may be towed or removed by the cemetery property owner at the vehicle owner's expense.

(6)

Littering prohibited. No person shall litter, dump or deposit any rubbish, refuse, earth or other material in any cemetery without the owner's consent.

(7)

Pets. Pets, including animals of any species, and horses are prohibited in any cemetery.

(8)

Sound devices. No person shall operate or play any amplifying system or sound device in any cemetery without the owner's consent.

(9)

Authorized notices. No person shall post, paste, fasten, paint or attach any placard, bill, notice, sign or advertising matter upon any structure, tree or other natural object in any cemetery, except cemetery regulations and other signs authorized by the owner. No person shall remove, deface or damage in any manner any official sign or notice posted in any cemetery.

(10)

Loitering prohibited. No person shall loiter or cause a nuisance or engage in any sport or exercise on any cemetery property without the owner's consent.

(11)

Alcoholic beverages prohibited. No person shall consume or have in his or her possession any open container containing an alcoholic beverage upon any cemetery property within the Village unless the property is specifically named as being part of a licensed premises.

(12)

Play vehicles prohibited. No person shall operate or make use of a play vehicle upon any cemetery property without the owner's consent. As used in this section, a play vehicle shall mean any coaster, skateboard, roller skates, sled, toboggan, unicycle or toy vehicle upon which a person may ride.

(13)

Presence after hours prohibited. No person shall be present upon any cemetery property without the owner's consent during posted hours when the cemetery is not open to the public.

§ 240-23 Damage to public property.

Damaging public property. No person shall climb any tree or pluck any flowers or fruit, wild or cultivated, or break, cut down, trample upon, remove, or in any manner injure or deface, write upon, defile or ill use any tree, shrub, flower, flower bed, turf, fountain, ornament, statue, building, fence, apparatus, bench, table, official notice, sign, bridge, structure or other property within any park or parkway, or in any way injure, damage or deface any public building, sidewalk or other public property in the Village of Benton.

Breaking of street lamps or windows. No person shall break glass in any street lamps or windows of any building owned or occupied by the Village.

Damaging fire hydrants and water mains. No person shall, without the authority of Village authorities, operate any valve connected with the street or water supply mains, or open any fire hydrant connected with the water distribution system, except for the purpose of extinguishing a fire. No person shall injure or impair the use of any water main or fire hydrant.

§ 240-24 Retail theft.

Whoever intentionally alters indicia of price or value of merchandise or takes and carries away, transfers, conceals or retains possession of merchandise held for resale by a merchant without consent and with intent to deprive the merchant permanently of possession or the full purchase price may be penalized as provided in Subsection D of this section.

The intentional concealment of unpurchased merchandise which continues from one floor to another or beyond the last station for receiving payments in a merchant's store is evidence of intent to deprive the merchant permanently of possession of such merchandise without paying the purchase price thereof. The discovery of unpurchased merchandise concealed upon the person or among the belongings of another is evidence of intentional concealment on the part of the person so concealing such goods.

A merchant or merchant's adult employee who has probable cause for believing that a person has violated this section in his or her presence may detain such person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time to deliver him to a peace officer, or to his or her parent or guardian if a minor. The detained person must be promptly informed of the purpose for the detention and may make phone calls, but he or she shall not be interrogated or searched against his or her will before the arrival of a law enforcement officer who may conduct a lawful interrogation of the accused person. Compliance with this subsection entitles the merchant or his or her employee affecting the detention to the same defense in any action as is available to a peace officer making an arrest in the line of duty.

If the value of the merchandise does not exceed $100, any person violating this section shall forfeit not more than $200. If the value of the merchandise exceeds $100, this section shall not apply and the matter shall be referred to the District Attorney for criminal prosecution.

§ 240-25 Issuance of worthless checks.

Whoever issues any check or other order for the payment of money less than $1,000 which, at the time of issuance, he or she intends shall not be paid is guilty of a violation of this section.

Any of the following is prima facie evidence that the person at the time he or she issued the check or other order for payment of money intended it should not be paid:

Proof that, at the time of issuance, the person did not have an account with the drawee; or

Proof that, at the time of issuance, the person did not have sufficient funds or credit with the drawee and that the person failed within five days after receiving notice on nonpayment or dishonor to pay the check or other order; or

Proof that, when presentment was made within a reasonable time, the person did not have sufficient funds or credit with the drawee and the person failed within five days after receiving notice of nonpayment or dishonor to pay the check or other order.

This section does not apply to a post-dated check or to a check given in past consideration, except a payroll check.

§ 240-26 Trespass to dwelling or land.

Trespass to land. No person shall enter or remain on any land after having been notified by the owner or occupant not to remain on the premises.

Trespass to dwelling. No person shall intentionally enter the dwelling of another without the consent of some person lawfully upon the premises, under circumstances tending to create or provoke a breach of the peace.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Original § 1-3-10, Regulation of smoking, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II). See now Ch. 268, Smoking.

§ 240-27 Theft prohibited.

Acts. Whoever does any of the following may be penalized as provided in § 1-3 of this Code:

Intentionally takes and carries away, uses, transfers, conceals or retains possession of movable property of another without his or her consent and with intent to deprive the owner permanently of possession of such property.

By virtue of his or her office, business or employment, or as trustee or bailee, having possession or custody of money or of a negotiable security, instrument, paper or other negotiable writing of another, intentionally uses, transfers, conceals or retains possession of such money, security, instrument, paper or writing without the owner's consent, contrary to his or her authority, and with intent to convert to his or her own use or to the use of any other person except the owner. A refusal to deliver any money or a negotiable security, instrument, paper or other negotiable writing, which is in his or her possession or custody by virtue of his or her office, business or employment, or as trustee or bailee, upon demand of the person entitled to receive it, or as required by law, is prima facie evidence of an intent to convert to his or her own use within the meaning of this subsection.