Chapter 1 General Provisions

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Code, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

GENERALLY

Terms shall be construed in their common and usual significance unless the contrary is clearly indicated.

ACTS OF AGENTS

When a provision requires an act to be done which may by law as well be done by an agent as by the principal, such requirement shall be construed to include all such acts when done by an authorized agent.

BOARD and VILLAGE BOARD

Whenever the terms "board" and "Village Board" are used without qualification, they shall read as if the term "of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin" followed such terms.

CODE

Whenever the term "Code" is used without further qualification, it shall mean the "Code of Ordinances, Village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin," as designated in § 1-1.

COMPUTATION OF TIME

The time within which an act is to be done or a proceeding had or taken shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last day. When any such time is expressed in hours, the whole of Sunday and of any legal holiday, from 12:00 midnight to 12:00 midnight, shall be excluded.

If the last day within which an act is to be done or a proceeding had or taken falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the act may be done or the proceeding had or taken on the next secular day.

When the last day within which a proceeding is to be had or an act done, which consists of any payment to or the service upon or the filing with any officer, agent, agency, department or division of the state or any county, city, Village, town, school district or other subdivision of the state, of any money, return, statement, notice or other document, falls on a Saturday and the duly established official office hours of such officer, agent, agency, department or division to which such payment is to be made or with which such return, statement, report, notice or other document is required to be filed do not include any office hours thereof on such Saturday, the proceeding may be had or taken or such act may be done on the next succeeding day that is not a Sunday or a legal holiday.

Regardless of whether the time limited in any statute for the taking of any proceeding or the doing of any act is measured from an event or from the date or day on which such event occurs, the day on which such event took place shall be excluded in the computation of such time.

GENDER, SINGULAR AND PLURAL

The term "legal holiday," as used in this definition, means any statewide legal holiday provided in Wis. Stats. § 895.20. When an act is permitted to be done by the use of the postal service and the last day within the time prescribed by law for performing such act falls on a legal holiday designated by the President such that the postal service does not receive registered mail or make regular deliveries on that day, the day shall be considered a legal holiday for the purposes of this definition.

COUNTY

The term "county" shall mean the County of Racine, Wisconsin.

Every term in this Code and in any ordinance imparting the masculine gender may extend and be applied to females as well as males, and every term imparting the singular number only may extend and be applied to several persons or things as well as to one person or thing; provided these rules of construction shall not be applied to any provision which contains any express language excluding such construction or when the subject matter or context of such provision may be repugnant thereto.

MONTH

The term "month" shall mean a calendar month.

OATH

The term "oath" includes an affirmation in all cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. If any oath or affirmation is required to be taken, such oath or affirmation shall be taken and administered before an officer authorized by the laws of the state to administer oaths, at the place where the oath is required to be taken or administered, unless otherwise expressly directed, and, when necessary, duly certified by such officer. If an oath is administered, it shall end with the term "so help me God." In actions and proceedings in the courts, a person may taken an oath or affirmation in communication with the administering officer by telephone or audiovisual means.

OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

Whenever any officer or employee is referred to by title, such as "Clerk-Treasurer" or "Health Officer," such reference shall be construed as if followed by the term "of the Village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin."

OWNER

The term "owner," as applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner, tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety of the whole or of a part of such building or land.

PERSON

The term "person" extends and applies to natural persons, firms, corporations, associations, partnerships or other bodies politic and all entities capable of being sued unless plainly inapplicable.

PERSONAL PROPERTY

The term "personal property" shall include every species of property, except real property.

PRECEDING and FOLLOWING

The terms "preceding" and "following" shall mean next before and next after, respectively.

PROPERTY

The term "property" shall include real, personal and mixed property.

REAL PROPERTY

The term "real property" shall include lands, tenements, hereditaments and all rights and interests thereto and therein.

SHALL

The term "shall" shall be construed as being mandatory.

SHERIFF

The term "sheriff" shall be construed as if followed by the term "of Racine County, Wisconsin."

STATE

The term "state" shall mean the State of Wisconsin.

STREET

The term "street" shall include any highway, court, street, avenue, boulevard, road, alley, lane or viaduct in the Village, dedicated or devoted to public use.

TENANT and OCCUPANT

The terms "tenant" and "occupant," When applied to a building or land, shall include any person holding a written or oral lease thereof or who occupies the whole or part of such building or land, either alone or with others.

TENSE

Terms used in the past or present tense include the future as well as the past and present.

VILLAGE

The term "village" shall mean the Village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.

WISCONSIN STATUTES and WIS. STATS

All references to the terms "Wisconsin Statutes" and "Wis. Stats." mean the current edition of the Wisconsin Statutes and includes the most recent biennial session as any statutes amended.

WRITTEN and IN WRITING

The terms "written" and "in writing" shall include any representation of terms, letters or figures, whether by printing, fax, e-mail or otherwise.

YEAR

The term "year" shall mean a calendar year unless otherwise expressed.

§ 1-3 Section catchlines and other headings.

The catchlines of the several sections of this Code printed in boldface type are intended as mere catchwords to indicate the contents of the sections and shall not be deemed or taken to be titles of such sections, nor as any part of the sections, nor, unless expressly so provided, shall they be so deemed when any such sections, including the catchlines, are amended or reenacted.

§ 1-4 History notes.

The history notes appearing in parentheses after sections of this Code are not intended to have any legal effect, but are merely intended to indicate the source of matter contained in the sections.

§ 1-5 References to chapters or sections.

All references to chapters or sections are to the chapters and sections of this Code unless otherwise specified.

§ 1-6 Editor's notes and references.

References and editor's notes following certain sections of this Code are inserted as an aid and guide to the reader and are not controlling, nor meant to have any legal effect.

§ 1-7 Effect of repeal.

[Code 1993, § 25.06]

The repeal or amendment of any section or provision of this Code, or of any other ordinance or resolution of the Village Board, shall not:

By implication, be deemed to revive any ordinance not in force or existing at the time such repeal or amendment takes effect.

Affect any vested right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under any enactment so repealed or amended unless the privilege of repealing such obligation or privilege has been reserved by the Village.

Affect any offense committed, or penalty or forfeiture incurred previous to the time when any ordinance is repealed or amended, except when any forfeiture or penalty has been mitigated by the provisions of any ordinance, such provisions shall apply to and control any judgment to be pronounced after such ordinance takes effect for any offense committed before that time.

§ 1-8 Certain ordinances not affected by Code.

Affect any prosecution for any offense, or the levy of any penalty or forfeiture pending at the time when any ordinance is repealed or amended, but the right of action shall continue and the offender shall be subject to the penalty as provided in such ordinance, and such prosecution shall proceed, in all respects, as if such ordinance had not been repealed, except all such proceedings had after the time this Code takes effect shall be conducted according to the provisions of this Code.

[Code 1993, § 25.05]

All ordinances heretofore adopted by the Village Board are hereby repealed, except all ordinances or parts of ordinances relating to the following subjects and not conflicting with any of the provisions of this Code:

Any offense or act committed or done or any penalty or forfeiture incurred before the effective date of this Code.

Any ordinance promising or guaranteeing the payment of money for the Village or authorizing the issuance of bonds or notes of the Village, any evidence of the Village's indebtedness, or any contract, right, agreement, lease, deed or other instrument or obligation assumed by the Village.

Any administrative ordinances of the Village not in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of this Code, including, but not limited to, letting contracts without bids and releasing persons from liability.

Any ordinance dedicating or accepting any plat or subdivision in the Village.

Any ordinance annexing or excluding territory, or extending the boundaries of the Village.

(6)

Any ordinance establishing positions, classifying positions or setting salaries of Village officers and employees, or any personnel regulations.

(7)

Any temporary or special ordinance, including, but not limited to, the joint sewage agreement and related contracts.

(8)

Any ordinance calling an election.

(9)

Any ordinance authorizing street maintenance agreements.

(10)

Any ordinance regarding the lighting of streets and alleys.

(11)

Any ordinance naming public grounds and parks.

(12)

Any ordinance regarding the establishment of wards, ward boundaries, aldermanic districts, aldermanic district boundaries and election precincts.

(13)

Any charter ordinance unless repealed by a charter ordinance.

(14)

Any ordinance releasing persons from liability.

(15)

The Village's schedules of fees and charges.

(16)

Any currently effective resolutions.

§ 1-9 Provisions considered as continuation of existing ordinances.

All such ordinances are recognized as continuing in full force and effect to the same extent as if set out at length in this Code. All ordinances are on file in the Clerk-Treasurer's office.

The provisions appearing in this Code, as far as they are the same as those of the Code of the Village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, and of ordinances existing at the time of adoption of this Code, shall be considered as a continuation thereof and not new enactments.

§ 1-10 Code does not affect prior offenses, rights, etc.

Nothing in this Code or the ordinance adopting this Code shall affect any offense or act committed or done, or any penalty or forfeiture incurred, or any contract or right established or accruing before the effective date of this Code.

§ 1-11 Clerk-Treasurer to file documents incorporated by reference.

[Code 1993, § 25.03]

Whenever in this Code any standard, code, rule, regulation or other written or printed matter is adopted by reference, it shall be deemed incorporated in this Code as if fully set forth in this Code, and the Clerk-Treasurer shall file, deposit and keep in his office a copy of the code, standard, rule, regulation or other written or printed matter as adopted. Materials so filed, deposited and kept shall be public records, open for examination with proper care by any person during the Clerk-Treasurer's office hours, subject to such orders or regulations which the Clerk-Treasurer may prescribe for preservation of such materials.

§ 1-12 Severability of parts of Code.

[Code 1993, § 25.02]

Conflict of provisions. If the provisions of the different chapters of this Code conflict with or contravene each other, the provisions of each chapter shall prevail as to all matters and questions arising out of the subject matter of such chapter.

Separability of provisions. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Code is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by reason of any decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of any other section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase, or portion thereof. The Village Board hereby declares that it would have passed this Code and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases, or portions thereof, may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

§ 1-13 Amendments to Code.

[Code 1993, § 25.08]

As each ordinance or resolution affecting this Code becomes effective, the Clerk-Treasurer shall forward such ordinance or resolution to the revisor, who shall incorporate it into the Code. The revisor shall make no substantive changes to such ordinances and resolutions, but may renumber, rearrange and edit them without first submitting them to the Village Board, and such rearranging, renumbering and editing shall not affect the validity of such ordinances and resolutions or the provisions of this Code affected thereby.

§ 1-14 Supplementation of Code.

By contract or by Village personnel, supplements to this Code shall be prepared and printed whenever authorized or directed by the Village Board. A supplement to this Code shall include all substantive permanent and general parts of ordinances passed by the Village Board or adopted by initiative and referendum during the period covered by the supplement and all changes made thereby in this Code, and shall also include all Charter ordinances adopted or amended during the period. The pages of a supplement shall be numbered so that they will fit properly into the Code and will, where necessary, replace pages which have become obsolete or partially obsolete, and the new pages shall be prepared so that, when they have been inserted, the Code will be current through the date of the adoption of the latest ordinance included in the supplement.

In preparing a supplement to this Code, all portions of the Code which have been repealed shall be excluded from the Code by the omission thereof from reprinted pages.

(c)

When preparing a supplement to this Code, the codifier (meaning the person, agency or organization authorized to prepare the supplement) may make formal, nonsubstantive changes in ordinances and parts of ordinances included in the supplement, insofar as it is necessary to do so to embody them into a unified Code. For example, the codifier may:

Organize the ordinance material into appropriate subdivisions;

Provide appropriate catchlines, headings and titles for sections and other subdivisions of the Code printed in the supplement, and make changes in catchlines, headings and titles;

Assign appropriate numbers to sections and other subdivisions to be inserted in the Code and, where necessary to accommodate new material, change existing section or other subdivision numbers;

Change the term "this ordinance," or terms of the same meaning, to "this chapter," "this article," "this division," etc., as the case may be, or to "sections_____ through_____," inserting section numbers to indicate the sections of the Code which embody the substantive sections of the ordinance incorporated into the Code; and

Make other nonsubstantive changes necessary to preserve the original meaning of ordinance sections inserted into the Code, but in no case shall the codifier make any change in the meaning or effect of ordinance material included in the supplement or already embodied in the Code.

§ 1-15 General penalty.

[Code 1993, § 25.04]

Except as otherwise provided, any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this Code shall, upon conviction of such violation, be subject to a penalty as follows:

First offense. Any person who shall violate any provision of this Code shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit not less than $50, nor more than $500, together with the costs of prosecution, and in default of payment of such forfeiture and costs of prosecution, shall be imprisoned in the county jail until such forfeiture and costs are paid, but not exceeding 90 days.

Second offense. Any person found guilty of violating any ordinance or part of an ordinance of this Code, who has previously been convicted of a violation of the same ordinance within one year, shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit not less than $100, nor more than $500, for each such offense, together with the costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such forfeiture and costs, shall be imprisoned in the county jail until such forfeiture and costs are paid, but not exceeding six months.

§ 1-16 Authority to issue citations; form.

Each violation and each day a violation continues or occurs shall constitute a separate offense. Nothing in this Code shall preclude the Village from maintaining any appropriate action to prevent or remove a violation of any provision of this Code.

(c)

Whenever any person fails to pay any forfeiture and costs of prosecution upon the order of any court for violation of any ordinance of the Village, the court may, in lieu of ordering imprisonment of the defendant, or after the defendant has been released from custody, issue an execution against the property of the defendant for such forfeiture and costs.

[Amended 1-9-2012 by Ord. No. 01-2012]

Pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 66.013, in addition to law enforcement officers, the following Village officials and their designees are authorized to issue citations for ordinance violations directly related to their official responsibilities:

Zoning Administrator.

Plumbing inspector.

Fire inspector.

Health services coordinator.

Building Inspector.

(6)

Highway foreman.

(7)

Director of Engineering.

§ 1-17 Penalties for nonpayment of any invoice; notice.

The form of the citation issued under this section shall include all of the information required by Wis. Stats. § 800.02.

[Ord. No. 6-2008, 6-9-2008; amended 1-9-2012 by Ord. No. 01-2012]

Delinquent charges. All engineering, paving and other charges for services provided by the Village shall be invoiced by the Village of Mount Pleasant promptly, and shall include notice of late payment penalty. Any customer who fails to pay such invoices within a thirty-day period shall pay a penalty as authorized at 1 1/2% cumulative interest rate per month (prorated from 30 days after the date of the original invoice).

Notice of delinquency. The Village of Mount Pleasant Finance Department will give notice not later than October 15th of each year to the owner/developer of such lot(s) or subdivision in the Village to which the Village has furnished services prior to October 1st of that year for which payment is owed and in arrears at the time of giving the notice.