[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of Trustees of the Village of Slinger as Ch. 4 of the former Municipal Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The Village shall prepare its annual tax roll and implement all collection and settlement in accordance with the Wisconsin Statutes, generally Chs. 70 to 79, and all other statutes, as applicable.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
B. 
Village collection of state and county taxes. The Village is required under § 61.26(1), Wis. Stats., to hold appropriate insurance or bond coverage for the Village Treasurer position. Further, § 70.67, Wis. Stats., requires an additional bond specifically for the Treasurer's duty of collecting taxes for the state and county. This second bond requirement may be fulfilled through the adoption of an ordinance obligating the Village to pay all taxes of any kind required by law to be paid by the Treasurer to the County Treasurer. The Village of Slinger elects not to provide an additional bond. Pursuant to § 70.67(2), Wis. Stats., the Village of Slinger shall be obligated to pay, in case the Treasurer thereof shall fail to do so, all state and county taxes required by law to be paid by such Treasurer to the County Treasurer. The Village Clerk shall file a certified copy of this ordinance with the County Treasurer.
[Added 12-4-2017 by Ord. No. 12-01-2017]
Whenever the Assessor, in the performance of the Assessor's duties, requests or obtains income and expense information pursuant to § 70.47(7)(af), Wis. Stats., or any successor statute thereto, such income and expense information that is provided to the Assessor shall be held by the Assessor on a confidential basis, except that the information may be revealed to and used by persons: in the discharge of duties imposed by law; in the discharge of duties imposed by office (including, but not limited to, use by the Assessor in performance of official duties of the Assessor's office and use by the Board of Review in performance of its official duties); or pursuant to order of a court. Income and expense information provided to the Assessor under § 70.47(7)(af), Wis. Stats., unless a court determines that it is inaccurate, is, per § 70.47(7)(af), Wis. Stats., not subject to the right of inspection and copying under § 19.35(1), Wis. Stats.
A. 
Departmental budget drafts. Each year, department heads and any other personnel responsible for the fiscal operation of a department, committee or subsection shall file with the Treasurer an itemized statement of revenues and disbursements deemed necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the department, committee or subsection during the ensuing fiscal year, and a detailed statement of the anticipated receipts and disbursements on account of any special fund under the supervision of such department head or other responsible personnel. Such statements shall be designated as "Draft Budgets" and shall be as nearly uniform as possible for the main division of all departments.
B. 
Treasurer to prepare for Village Board review.
(1) 
Each year, the Village Treasurer shall prepare for the Village Board's review a proposed budget presenting a financial plan for the Village for the ensuing calendar year. The budget shall include the following information:
(a) 
The expense of operation of each department and activity of the Village for the ensuing fiscal year and corresponding items for the current year and last preceding year, with reasons for any increase and/or decrease recommended as compared with appropriations for the current year.
(b) 
An itemization of all anticipated income of the Village from sources other than general property taxes and bonds issued, with a comparative statement of the amounts received by the Village from each of the same or similar sources for the last preceding and current fiscal year.
(c) 
An itemization of the amount of money to be raised from general property taxes which, with income from other sources, will be necessary to meet the proposed expenditures.
(d) 
Such other information as may be required by the Board and by state law.
(2) 
The Village shall provide a reasonable number of copies of the prepared budget for distribution to citizens.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
C. 
Public hearing. The Board shall hold a public hearing on the budget as required by law. Following the public hearing, the proposed budget may be changed or amended as deemed appropriate by the Board.
The amount of the tax to be levied or certified, the amounts of the various appropriations, and the purposes thereof shall not be changed after approval of the budget except by a 2/3 vote of the entire membership of the Village Board. Notice of such transfer shall be given by postings in three public locations.
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury of the Village, nor shall any obligation for the expenditure of money be incurred, except in pursuance of the annual appropriation in the adopted budget or when changed as authorized by § 51-5 of this chapter. At the close of each fiscal year, any unencumbered balance of an appropriation shall revert to the general fund, unless otherwise designated.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
In conjunction with the annual presentation of departmental budget drafts, department heads with authorization and responsibility for capital assets shall prepare a five-year capital improvement program with budgetary information for the first year of the program at a minimum. Capital budgets will include a current asset inventory, a list of ongoing and proposed projects in order of priority and an operating budget impact for each project. The operating budget impact statement will provide an estimate of future operating costs that will result from the capital project under consideration.
[Amended 11-20-2017 by Ord. No. 11-01-17; 10-21-2024 by Ord. No. 10-01-2024]
A. 
General fund unassigned fund balance. The Village shall make every effort to maintain an unassigned fund balance in the general fund that will be the equivalent of no less than two to four months of regular general fund operating expenditures. Until such time that the unassigned balance in the general fund has reached that level, nonroutine expenditures will be kept to a minimum to allow the accumulation of sufficient fund balance. Maintaining this level of unassigned fund balance will provide the Village with sufficient working capital, help mitigate current and future risks, and ensure stable tax rates. Should the general fund unassigned fund balance exceed the equivalent of six months regular general fund operating expenditures for two consecutive audit periods, the Village Board may authorize the transfer of fund balance to the capital project fund to support ongoing capital improvements to Village infrastructure.
B. 
Special revenue funds. The Village Treasurer shall create and maintain special revenue funds as directed by the Village Board, state statute, or debt service requirements. Reserve levels in these funds will be determined by the criteria and restrictions established at the time of fund creation.
C. 
Debt service fund. This fund monitors and facilitates the Village's debt payments, in accordance with the terms and restrictions of any existing general obligation notes and bonds.
D. 
Capital project funds. Capital project funds shall be established to provide for such activities as capital improvements, equipment and vehicle purchases, Tax Incremental Financing District and Redevelopment Authority projects. Reserves for these funds will be maintained in accordance with the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budgets established annually for each fund.
E. 
Enterprise funds. Each of the Village's utilities, electric, water, sewer and stormwater, have enterprise funds established to account for the utility's operations and capital improvements. The goal for each enterprise fund reserves shall be to maintain a level of working capital in the equivalent of three months' operating expenditures. Working capital is defined as a fund's current assets less its current liabilities.
F. 
Internal service funds. Central equipment and central services funds shall be established to account for the operations and capital purchases for Village-owned vehicles, equipment, buildings and land. These funds shall be supported through rent and administrative charges assessed to the Village's departments and utility operations. Reserve funds shall be accrued for the purpose of capital purchases and repayment of debt for capital projects associated with municipal buildings.
A. 
No account or demand against the Village, except as provided in Subsection C, shall be paid until it has been audited by the Village Board and an order drawn on the Village Treasurer.
B. 
Claims to be verified. All accounts, demands, or claims against the Village shall be verified by the proper official.
C. 
Payment of regular wages, salaries, contracts, and routine bills. Regular wages, salaries, contracts, and routine bills of the Village shall be paid by the Treasurer, after being verified by the proper Village Official.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
The Village Clerk and Treasurer shall be responsible for establishing, maintaining and documenting the fiscal procedures to be used in the Village's accounting, cash management and internal control activities. These procedures will be made available to all employees as needed and reviewed annually to ensure their relevance and accuracy.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 4.12, Destruction of obsolete public records, which immediately followed this section, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Any vehicle stored or impounded by the Village of Slinger or the Slinger Police Department will be charged a storage fee. This fee will be set by the Village Board and will be reviewed by the Village Board from time to time.
The Village Clerk shall have charge and custody of all property of the Village that is determined by the Village Board to be surplus property. The Clerk, upon order of the Village Board, may sell such property at public sale or dispose of the same in any manner approved by the Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Collection of amounts owed to the Village general funds and utilities that are owing and are in arrears shall fall under the jurisdiction of the Village Treasurer.
A. 
The provisions of the Wisconsin Statutes and also all acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto are adopted as a portion of this chapter so far as applicable, except as otherwise provided by this chapter.
A. 
Professional fees charged back. The Village Treasurer shall charge property owners fees for services, pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats., in the following circumstances:
(1) 
Whenever a property owner contacts the Village Attorney or other professional staff whether such staff is employed by the Village or independently contracted, if said contact and subsequent service results in a charge to the Village of Slinger for that professional's time and services and said service is not a service supplied to the Village of Slinger as a whole, the Village Treasurer shall charge property owners the total charge incurred by the Village of Slinger.
(2) 
Whenever the Village Board, Village Administrator, Village Clerk or other Village official contacts the Village Attorney or other professional staff, whether such staff is employed by the Village or independently contracted, regarding an application received from a property owner, if said contact and subsequent service results in a charge to the Village of Slinger for that professional's time and services and said service is not a service supplied to the Village of Slinger as a whole, the Village Treasurer shall charge the property owners the total charge incurred by the Village of Slinger.
(3) 
Whenever the Village incurs professional fees in considering certified survey maps, subdivision plats, rezoning petitions, conditional use permit petitions, site development applications and other petitions related to the development of land in the Village, the Village Treasurer shall charge property owners the total charge to the Village of Slinger. For purposes of this subsection, professional fees shall include any charges incurred by the Village in relation to such application from the Village Engineer, Village Attorney, or any other of the Village's professional staff, whether such professional staff is employed by the Village or independently contracted.
(4) 
Professional fees related to work performed by the Village Engineer or any other staff employed by the Village may include the costs for hours worked specific to an application received from a property owner. These costs will be documented with the relevant dates and times to be provided to the property owner.
(5) 
Before charging a property owner with professional fees in accordance with this section, the Village Administrator or Village Treasurer shall ensure that the work performed does not benefit the Village of Slinger as a whole. Only those charges that are shown to be of private benefit to the property owner shall be charged.
B. 
Property owner allowed time to pay or appeal. The Village Treasurer shall give each property owner billed for current services as provided for herein notice that they shall have a specified period of time not less than 20 days to pay. Said notice shall also state that within 15 days of the date of the notice, the property owner may request a hearing before the Village Board regarding the charge against the property. Said notice shall also include a statement of the professional services fees to be charged. Thereafter, if the property owner requests a hearing within the proper time period, the matter shall proceed as described in Subsection C, Appeal to Village Board, below. If a hearing is not requested within the required time period and the charge remains unpaid, the Village Treasurer shall automatically charge that delinquent bill against the property tax roll as provided by law. In the event the statement rendered to the property owner becomes delinquent too late in the year to be extended on that year's tax roll, then the delinquent charge shall be extended to the following year's tax roll.
C. 
Appeal to Village Board. Upon receipt of a timely request for hearing, the Village Board shall hold a hearing regarding the property charges at its next scheduled meeting or as soon as feasible. Such hearing shall be preceded by posted public notice and reasonable notice, via first class mail, to the property owner. In the event a hearing is requested, no charges shall be placed on the tax roll unless and until such hearing has been held and a decision has been rendered by the Village Board, and the Village Board approves the charges against the tax roll in whole or in part. If the charges are approved only in part, only that part of the charges may be charged against the tax roll.
D. 
Permits for government organization. Whenever it is requested that the Village of Slinger grant approvals to any other municipality, agency or other governmental body and that permit process warrants the assistance of contracted professional staff of the Village, those fees shall be charged back to the municipality, agency or other governmental body seeking the permit.
A. 
Professional fees charged back. The Village Treasurer shall charge developers fees for services, in the following circumstances:
(1) 
Whenever a developer contacts the Village Attorney or other professional staff, whether such staff is employed by the Village or independently contracted, if said contact and subsequent service results in a charge to the Village of Slinger for that professional's time and services and said service is not a service supplied to the Village of Slinger as a whole, the Village Treasurer shall charge the developer the total charge incurred by the Village of Slinger.
(2) 
Whenever the Village Board, Village Administrator, Village Clerk or other Village official contacts the Village Attorney or other professional staff, whether such staff is employed by the Village or independently contracted, regarding an application received from a developer, if said contact and subsequent service results in a charge to the Village of Slinger for that professional's time and services and said service is not a service supplied to the Village of Slinger as a whole, the Village Treasurer shall charge the developer the total charge incurred by the Village of Slinger.
(3) 
Whenever the Village incurs professional fees in considering certified survey maps, subdivision plats, rezoning petitions, conditional use permit petitions, site development applications and other petitions related to the development of land in the Village, the Village Treasurer shall charge developers the total charge to the Village of Slinger. For purposes of this subsection, professional fees shall include any charges incurred by the Village in relation to such application from the Village Engineer, Village Attorney, or any other of the Village's professional staff, whether such professional staff is employed by the Village or independently contracted.
(4) 
Professional fees related to work performed by the Village Engineer or any other staff employed by the Village may include the costs for hours worked specific to an application received from a developer. These costs will be documented with the relevant dates and times to be provided to the developer.
(5) 
Before charging a developer with professional fees in accordance with this section, the Village Administrator or Village Treasurer shall ensure that the work performed does not benefit the Village of Slinger as a whole. Only those charges that are shown to be of private benefit to the property owner shall be charged.
B. 
Developer required to pay chargeback fees. The Village will not accept applications or requests for review from a developer without first receiving a deposit for payment of all fees to be incurred related to work to be performed by the Village Engineer, Village Attorney, or any other of the Village's professional staff, whether such staff is employed by the Village or independently contracted, that is not a service supplied to the Village of Slinger as a whole; and a signed notice and acknowledgment form regarding the developer's responsibility to pay fees incurred by the Village. The deposit shall be in the amount of $500 unless a different amount is required by the Village Administrator due to the circumstances of the development project. In the event such fees are not paid in a timely manner, the Village will discontinue the review process for the subject application or request until such time as the fees are paid in full. The Village may draw funds from the deposit for payment of such fees, and shall provide a written notice to the developer of any such use of the deposited funds. No permits, including but not limited to building permits, occupancy permits, and conditional use permits, will be issued until all fees are paid. Unused deposit funds will be returned to the person or entity who made the deposit upon request following payment of all outstanding fees after final acceptance of the development as a whole has been granted by the Village.
C. 
Appeal to Village Board. Upon written request for hearing, the Village Board shall hold a hearing regarding any contested chargeback fees at its next scheduled meeting or as soon as feasible. Such hearing shall be preceded by posted public notice and reasonable notice, via first-class mail, to the developer. In the event a hearing is requested, no contested charges shall be due unless and until such hearing has been held and a decision has been rendered by the Village Board, and the Village Board approves the charges in whole or in part. If the charges are approved only in part, only that part of the charges may be charged.
[Added 7-17-2023 by Ord. No. 07-02-2023]
A. 
Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings given herein:
HOTEL or MOTEL
A building or group of buildings in which the public may obtain accommodations for a consideration, including, without limitation, such establishments as inns, motels, tourist homes, tourist houses or courts, lodging houses, summer camps, apartment hotels, resort lodges, campgrounds, cabins and any other building or group of buildings in which the accommodations are available to the public, except accommodations rented for a continuous period of more than one month and accommodations furnished by any hospital, sanatorium, or nursing home, rooming house, or by corporations or associations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes, provided that no part of the net earnings of such corporations and associations inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
MARKETPLACE PROVIDER
Has the meaning given in § 77.51(7i), Wis. Stats., to the extent that the marketplace provider facilitates the sale or furnishing of rooms, lodging, or other accommodations to transients.
MARKETPLACE SELLER
A seller who sells products through a physical or electronic marketplace operated by a marketplace provider.
PERSON
Include corporations, partnerships and other business entities.
TOURISM
Travel for recreational, business or educational purposes.
TOURISM PROMOTION AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Any of the following that are significantly used by transient tourists and reasonably likely to generate paid overnight stays:
(1) 
Marketing projects, including advertising media buys, creation and distribution of printed or electronic promotional tourist materials, or efforts to recruit conventions, sporting events, or motorcoach groups.
(2) 
Transient tourist informational services.
(3) 
Tangible municipal development, including a convention center.
TRANSIENT
Any individual residing for a continuous period of less than one month in a motel, hotel, or other furnished accommodations available to the public.
B. 
Imposition of room tax.
(1) 
Pursuant to § 66.0615, Wis. Stats., a tax is imposed on the privilege and service of furnishing, at retail, rooms or lodging to transients by hotel keepers, motel operators and other persons furnishing accommodations that are available to the public, irrespective of whether membership is required for the use of the accommodations. Such tax shall be at the rate of 8% of the gross receipts from such retail furnishing of rooms or lodgings. Such tax shall not be subject to the selective sales tax imposed by § 77.52(2)(a)1, Wis. Stats.
(2) 
Registration required. Every person furnishing rooms or lodging under Subsection B(1) above shall register each business entity with the Treasurer. The registration shall be signed by the owner if a sole proprietor and, if not a sole proprietor, by the person authorized to act on behalf of such sellers.
(3) 
Issuance of certificate of registration. After compliance with Subsection B(2) above by the applicant, the Treasurer shall grant and issue to each applicant a separate certificate for each business entity within the Village. Such certificate is not assignable and is valid only for the person in whose name it is issued and for the transaction of business at the place designated therein. It shall at all times be available for inspection at the place for which issued.
C. 
Collection of tax.
(1) 
Due date. The room tax imposed for each calendar quarter is due and payable and must be received in the office of the Village Treasurer at the Village Hall on or before the last business day of the month next succeeding the calendar quarter for which it is imposed.
(2) 
Quarterly room tax returns. A quarterly room tax report return shall be filed with the Treasurer on or before the same date on which such tax is due and payable. Such return shall be on a form provided by the Village and shall show the gross receipts of the preceding calendar quarter from such retail furnishing of rooms or lodging, illustrating and indicating thereon any exemption from an imposed room tax, billed to the state and/or its departments or agencies, the amount of taxes imposed for such period, and such other information as the Treasurer deems necessary, provided it is directly related to the tax.
(3) 
Annual room tax return. Every person required to file such quarterly returns shall also file an annual calendar year return on a form provided by the Village which shall be due and filed as part of the quarterly return for the fourth quarter of each calendar year. The annual return shall summarize the quarterly returns, reconcile and adjust for errors in the quarterly returns, and shall contain certain such additional information as the Treasurer requires, provided it is directly related to the tax. All annual returns shall be signed by the persons required to file a return, or his or her duly authorized agent. The Treasurer may, for good cause, extend the time for filing any return but in no event longer than one month from the filing date.
D. 
Liability for unpaid tax. The room tax imposed hereunder shall be a continuing liability upon the business entity or person upon whom it is imposed until paid in full. Business successors shall be liable for any preceding calendar quarter for which a return has not been filed and payment not received.
E. 
Interest on unpaid taxes. All unpaid taxes under this chapter shall bear interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the due date of the return until the first day of the month following the month in which the tax was paid.
F. 
Delinquent tax returns. Tax returns required hereunder and not timely filed shall be deemed delinquent and may be subject to a late filing fee as set by Village Board resolution.
G. 
Administration of tax collection.
(1) 
The Village Treasurer shall be responsible for the administration and collection of the room tax. The Treasurer may, by field audit, determine the tax required to be paid to the Village or the refund due to any person under this section. The determination shall be made upon the basis of the facts contained in the return being audited and upon any other information available to the Treasurer. The Treasurer is authorized to examine and inspect the books, records memoranda and property of the person which are directly related to the tax or which have a direct bearing upon the gross receipts upon which the tax due, including state sales tax records, as determined in order to verify the tax liability of that person or another person. Nothing herein shall prevent the Treasurer from making a determination of tax at any time.
(2) 
No less than 70% of the amount collected from room taxes shall be forwarded to the Tourism Commission created to promote tourism and tourism development. The remaining funds, not to exceed 30% of annual collections, shall be used and disbursed at the discretion of the Village Board.
H. 
Penalty assessment. If any person fails to timely file a return, as required by this section, the Treasurer shall make an estimate of the amount of the gross receipts upon which the tax is determined. Such estimate shall be made for the period for which such person failed to make a return and shall be based upon any information which is in the Treasurer's possession or may come into his or her possession or such other information as may have a bearing upon the determination of gross receipts. On the basis of this estimate, the Treasurer shall compute and determine the amount required to be paid to the Village, adding to the sum thus arrived at a penalty equal to 10% thereof. Such determination may be made for each quarterly period for which no return is filed. Such penalty shall be due upon written notice to the business entity or person owing the tax and shall not be in lieu of the tax due hereunder.
I. 
Fraudulent tax returns. If a person files false or fraudulent return with the intent in either case to defect or evade the tax imposed by this section, a penalty of 50% shall be added to the tax required to be paid, exclusive of interest and other penalties.
J. 
Records to be maintained. Every person liable for the tax imposed by this section shall keep or cause to be kept such records, receipts, invoices and other pertinent papers for seven years in such form so as to enable the Treasurer to determine the tax due hereunder.
K. 
Confidentiality.
(1) 
All tax returns, schedules, exhibits, writings or audit reports relating to such returns on file with the Village Treasurer are deemed to be confidential, except the Village Treasurer may divulge their contents to the following and no others:
(a) 
The person who filed the return.
(b) 
Such other public officials when deemed necessary and after notification of the licensee.
(2) 
No person having an administrative duty under this section shall make known in any manner the business affairs, operations or information obtained by an investigation of records of any person on whom a tax is imposed by this section, the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof set forth or disclosed in any return, or permit any return or copy thereof to be seen or examined by any person, except as provided herein.
L. 
Penalty. Any person, firm or corporation found guilty of violating this section shall be punishable as set forth in § 1-2 of this Code.