Town of Herman, WI Article III Offenses Against Property

§ 281-4 Destruction of property.

A. Destruction of property prohibited. No person shall willfully injure or intentionally deface, destroy or unlawfully remove, take or meddle with any property of any kind or nature within the Town of Herman and belonging to the Town or its departments, or to any private person, without the consent of the owner or proper authority.

B. Parental liability. Pursuant to § 895.035, Wis. Stats., the parents of an unemancipated minor shall be liable for the damage to property caused by the willful, malicious or wanton act of such child; such liability shall not exceed $5,000.

§ 281-5 Littering and dumping.

A. Littering prohibited. No person shall deposit, discharge or throw any solid waste, debris, junk, glass, refuse, waste, filth or other litter upon the streets, alleys, highways, public parks, public rights-of-way, or other property of the Town, upon any private property without the owner's express permission, or upon the surface or ice of any body of water within the Town of Herman.

B. Litter from conduct of commercial enterprise.

(1) 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.

(2) Cleanup of litter. 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 24 hours of the time the same is deposited or immediately if such litter or debris presents a traffic or safety hazard. 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.

(3) 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 Town shall arrange to have the same picked up by Town personnel or by private enterprise. Applicable bidding procedures shall be used for any arrangement for the use of private enterprise to pick up such litter. 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 Town Attorney's office, to collect the same. This charge shall be in addition to any forfeiture or other penalty for violation of this section.

C. Dumping of refuse and grass along roads. Except for temporary placement up to 24 hours, no person shall deposit any refuse, leaves or grass clippings in any gutter, ditch or drainageway along any public street, road, alley, public right-of-way or highway.

D. Depositing of materials prohibited. Except as provided in Subsection C, it shall be unlawful for any person to deposit, cause or permit to be deposited, placed or parked any vegetation, 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 Town Board, or its designee, pursuant to the provisions of this Code of Ordinances, or upon any private property without the consent of the owner or lessee of the property. Any person who deposits or 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.

E. Miscellaneous provisions.

(1) This section does not apply to a person who places solid waste in a receptacle designed for solid waste storage that is located along a highway or on other public or private property in conformance with Town of Herman ordinances.

(2) This section does not apply to a person who deposits or discharges solid waste in conformance with Ch. 31, 283 or 289, Wis. Stats., or under a permit, license or other approval issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources or Department of Transportation under those chapters.

§ 281-6 Abandoned refrigerators.

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/her control in a place accessible to children, any abandoned, unattended or discarded freezer, 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 icebox, refrigerator or container, unless such container is displayed for sale on the premises of the owner or his/her agent and is securely locked or fastened.

§ 281-7 Damage to public property.

A. 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, flowerbed, 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 Town of Herman.

B. Breaking of streetlamps or windows. No person shall break glass in any streetlamps or windows of any building owned or occupied by the Town.

§ 281-8 Violations and penalties.

In addition to the general penalty of this Code in § 1-4 or any other penalty imposed for violation of any section of this article, any person who shall cause physical damage to or destroy any public property shall be liable for the cost of replacing or repairing such damaged or destroyed property. The parent or parents of any unemancipated minor child who violates § 281-6 may also be held liable for the cost of replacing or repairing such damaged or destroyed property in accordance with the Wisconsin Statutes. Nothing in this Code of Ordinances shall prevent law enforcement officers from referring violations of the provisions of this chapter to the District Attorney's office in the interest of justice.