Helpful FAQs

2025 Wisconsin Act 71, which became effective December 11, 2025, gives towns additional flexibility regarding the procedures required to convert the positions of town clerk, treasurer, and/or combined clerk-treasurer from elected to appointed. Previously, towns with a population under 2,500 were required to hold a referendum vote to make these positions appointed, whereas larger towns had the option to have their electors vote in person at a town elector meeting. Now all towns have the same options, regardless of population size.

Option 1 – Town Elector Meeting Vote, Wis. Stats. §§ 60.10(1)(b)(2m) and 60.30(1e)(e):

The town electors may vote to convert the positions of town clerk, treasurer, and/or combined clerk-treasurer from elected to appointed at an in-person town meeting of the town electors. This vote may be taken either at the annual town meeting in April or at a special town meeting of the electors called and noticed for this purpose under Wis. Stat. § 60.12, where the question of making the office(s) in question appointed specifically appears on the agenda for the meeting.

Option 2 – Referendum Vote, Wis. Stat. § 60.30(1e)(a)-(b):

Alternatively, towns may choose to hold a referendum to determine whether to convert these positions from elected to appointed. To call for a referendum on this matter, the town board must first enact an ordinance that provides for the appointment of the position(s). A sample appointment ordinance is available in the Information Library. Next, the town board must call a referendum for the electors to approve the ordinance--the call for the referendum is included in our sample ordinance. The referendum must be held at the next spring or general election (April or November) but cannot be held not sooner than 70 days after the referendum is called by the town board. Therefore, a town board wishing to use this option must start the process at least a few months prior to the election date.

Out of 1,249 towns, there are currently: 240 appointed clerks and 800 elected clerks; 165 appointed treasurers and 875 elected treasurers; 126 appointed clerk-treasurers and 102 elected clerk-treasurers.

The general rule is that, if the town electors vote in favor of making the town clerk, treasurer, and/or combined clerk-treasurer positions appointed, the change will not become effective until the start of the next term of office for each affected position, when the term of the currently elected position expires. Wis. Stats. §§ 60.30(1e)(c) and 60.30(1e)(f). For example, if the electors vote on this issue in April of an even-numbered year, the change won't become effective until the following April, when the elected term of office expires for the town clerk and treasurer positions.

However, 2025 Wisconsin Act 71 provides some additional flexibility if a town has a vacancy in the town clerk, treasurer, and/or combined clerk-treasurer position(s). Towns now have the option to make this change effective immediately, in the middle of an elected term of office, if the position in question is vacant. See Wis. Stat. § 60.30(1e)(f). For example, if the elected town clerk resigns mid-term, the town board could call and provide notice for a special town elector meeting under § 60.12 to vote on making the position appointed. If the electors at the meeting vote in favor of the change, the town board could then immediately treat the position as appointed when filling the vacancy.

NOTE: Not sooner than 2 years after the position becomes appointive, the town board may enact an ordinance to return the office to an elective position, without a referendum or a town elector meeting vote. See Wis. Stats. §§ 60.30(1e)(d) and 60.30(1e)(g).

The positives or negatives often depend on one’s perspective. But some of the key differences are as follows: Appointed clerks and treasurers: 1. Do not have to be town residents. 2. Have their qualifications, job descriptions, and wages/benefits set by the town board as they are essentially town employees hired by the board. 3. Cannot be removed by the board during their term of office, unless there is “cause” for removal (misconduct in office or neglect of duties). The board can simply choose not to re-appoint an official at the end of his or her term without having to establish cause. 4. Can be appointed for a term not to exceed 3 years at one time. Can be appointed for a shorter term such as six months or one year or whatever the board deems appropriate. Elected clerks and treasurers: 1. Do have to be town residents. 2. Are answerable to the electorate and cannot be required by the board to hold specific qualifications or obtain training (unless required by state law-such as election training for clerks). 3. Can be recalled from office like other elected officials. 4. Are elected for two year terms at the spring election in odd-numbered years.

The calculation to figure out the tax rate is pretty simple. The town tax rate is determined by dividing the town tax levy by the total assessed value of the town. See the sample below: Town Tax Levy ÷ Assessed Value of Town = Town Tax Rate.  So, if the amount of the town's allowable tax levy for this year is $100,000 and the town's total assessed value is $ 20,000,000, the equation to determine the tax rate would be: $100,000 ÷ $20,000,000 = .005. To figure out the tax rate per thousand of assessed value, multiply .005 x $1,000 which equals $5.00. That means if the electors only approve the maximum allowable tax levy, the tax rate will equate to a tax bill of $5.00 per thousand of assessed value and someone with a home assessed at $150,000 would have to pay a town tax of $750. To show how much the town tax will go up if the electors are asked to exceed the levy limit by 20%, for example, the same equation must be re-calculated with the proposed levy increase. Therefore, if the board is proposing that the levy be increased to $120,000, the calculation would be $120,000 ÷ $20,000,000 = .006 which equals a town tax of $6.00 dollars per thousand of assessed value and someone with a home assessed at $150,000 would have to pay a town tax bill of $900.

The town electors may combine the offices of town clerk and town treasurer by a vote at an in-person town elector meeting. This vote may be taken either at the annual town meeting in April or a special town meeting of the electors called and noticed for this purpose under Wis. Stat. § 60.12, where the question of combining these offices specifically appears on the agenda for the meeting. The procedure to combine offices is the same for all towns, regardless of population size. See Wis. Stat. § 60.305(1)(a).

The general rule is that a combination of the town clerk and town treasurer offices under this provision may not take effect until both current terms of office for the separate clerk and treasurer positions expire. Wis. Stat. § 60.305(4)(a)1. However, 2025 Wisconsin Act 71 also gives towns more flexibility to combine the clerk and treasurer offices when a vacancy occurs. Towns may now make the combination of the town clerk and treasurer offices effective immediately if both offices are vacant, or, if the person who will be appointed to the combined office already holds one of the offices, when the other office becomes vacant. Wis. Stat. § 60.305(4)(a)2.

The combination of town offices may be revoked in the same way they were combined, by a vote at a properly noticed town elector meeting. Wis. Stat. § 60.305(4)(c). If a town is combining or separating two elected positions, the elector meeting to vote on the change must be held no later than mid-November in the even-numbered year prior to the next election for the clerk and treasurer positions, as the clerk must provide notice in November of which offices will be up for election the following spring (whether separate positions will be listed on the ballot versus one combined position).

Under state law, fireworks may generally only be sold to members of the public for recreational use if they are the holder of a valid user’s permit meeting the requirements of s. 167.10(3), Wis. Stat.  As a result, people wishing to use or possess fireworks within the town must get a permit from the town. Permits are not required to transport fireworks through the town on the way to another location, as long as the person transporting the fireworks remains in the town for less than 12 hours. See s. 167.10(3)(bm), Wis. Stat. Likewise, people who are not state residents can buy fireworks without a permit and transport them out of state as long as they don't stay in any municipality for more than 12 hours.  If they intend to use the fireworks in Wisconsin or plan to stay in any Wisconsin municipality with the fireworks for 12 or more hours, they need a valid permit.