Wis. Stat. § 45.75 — WI Code / Chapter 45 / Section 45.75
Memorials in populous counties.
Status: in_force

(1) Any county having a population of 750,000 or more may establish and maintain a memorial or memorials in the county under s. 45.72 by agreement between the county board of the county and any nonprofit private corporation without capital stock organized under the laws of this state, except as provided in this section, expressly for any of the purposes of s. 45.72 .

(2) The board of directors of the corporation shall be designated as the “memorial board,” and its members shall be called “trustees.” The membership of the memorial board may include special members, who need not be members of the corporation.

(3) The memorial board shall consist of 15 members, of whom 8 may be special members to be elected as provided in this section, and the remaining members shall be elected from the membership of the corporation.

(4) Special members of the memorial board shall be elected by the county board of such county and consist of the following:

(a) Four members from the county board.

(b) Four members elected from among the residents of the county.

(5) Terms of members of the memorial board shall be as follows:

(a) For special members:

1. Members elected from the county board shall be elected at the first meeting of the county board following each county board general election and their terms shall commence on that date. They shall hold office during their terms on the county board and until their successors are elected and qualified.

2. Members elected from among the residents shall hold office for 4 years and until their successors are elected, except that the first 4 such members shall be chosen for 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively.

3. Any vacancy in the special membership shall be filled by the county board for the unexpired term, and until a successor is elected and qualified.

(b) For elected members from the corporate membership: the terms of the trustees shall be for such numbers of years that those of an equal number, as nearly as may be, shall expire in 2, 3, and 4 years, and successive terms of 4 years each thereafter and until their successors are elected and qualified.

(6) The articles of incorporation of the corporation shall provide originally or by amendment, in addition to other necessary provisions, and as permitted by this section, for the classification of the members of the corporation, for the election of trustees proportionately from and by those classifications, for the terms of the members of the corporation and for the officers, their duties, and the terms thereof to be elected from the membership.

(7) The war memorial may be constructed upon any land ceded before July 15, 1953, by this state to any municipality in this state notwithstanding any restrictions, limitations, or conditions as to the nature of the use of any of the land contained in the legislative act, granting the land to the municipality, and notwithstanding the restrictions, limitations, or conditions incorporated in any subsequent conveyance of the lands by the municipality.

(8) The war memorial may be constructed in any public park and the use of those park lands as a location for a war memorial shall not be considered inconsistent with the use of the same for park purposes. No war memorial shall be constructed in a public park until the park commission, general manager appointed under s. 27.03 (2) , or park board having jurisdiction of the park shall approve the construction. The county board of any county may authorize the construction of a war memorial at different intervals of time if the proposed memorial consists of more than one building or structure and any county board subsequently elected shall carry into effect any contract authorized by s. 45.72 entered into on behalf of the county for the construction or maintenance of the war memorial. The construction, maintenance, and operation of a war memorial in a county park shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the county board and no part of those costs shall be charged against the funds of the park commission, park system, or park board of the county.

(9)

(a) The memorial board may request from the department funds from the appropriation account under s. 20.485 (2) (b) for one or more purposes specified under par. (b) . In a request for funds under this paragraph, the memorial board must include all of the following:

1. A description of the purpose for which the memorial board is requesting the funds and the memorial board’s intended use of the requested funds.

2. A written averment from the memorial board that it has, or has a written financial commitment to receive, a full match of the amount of funds it is requesting from the department, which matching funds the memorial board will ensure are used to meet at least half of the memorial board’s total anticipated cost for the purpose for which the memorial board is requesting funds.

(b) Funds requested under par. (a) may be used by a war memorial established under sub. (1) for any of the following purposes:

1. Expenses relating to the operation of the war memorial, including memorials, capital projects, exhibits, programs, salaries, and insurance.

2. Maintenance, repairs, development, construction, or improvements of the war memorial’s facilities, properties, or grounds or other property owned, operated, or maintained by the war memorial.

(c) Within 60 days of a memorial board’s request for funds under par. (a) , the department shall review the request and determine whether to fully or partially approve the request, request more information from the memorial board, or deny the request if the request does not meet the requirements under par. (a) . Upon the department’s full or partial approval of a request made under this paragraph, the department shall within 30 days provide to the war memorial the approved funds. Upon the department’s full or partial denial of a request made under this paragraph, the memorial board may within 90 days request that the department revisit and review its denial decision.

(d) By the end of each fiscal year in which a memorial board receives funds from the department as the result of a request made under par. (a) , the memorial board shall submit a report to the joint committee on finance and to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution under s. 13.172 (3) to the standing committees having jurisdiction over veterans matters. The report shall describe how the memorial board used or plans to use the received funds and shall indicate how much money remains in the appropriation account under s. 20.485 (2) (b) .

History: 2005 a. 22 ; 2017 a. 207 s. 5 ; 2025 a. 15 .