Wis. Stat. § 59.26 — WI Code / Chapter 59 / Section 59.26
Sheriff; undersheriff.
Status: in_force

(1) Appointment and removal.

(a) No later than 10 days after taking office and no later than 10 days after the occurrence of a vacancy, the sheriff shall appoint an undersheriff. The undersheriff shall be a resident of the county and a law enforcement officer or jail officer certified under s. 165.86 .

(b) An undersheriff may be removed at the pleasure of the sheriff.

(c) The appointment or removal of an undersheriff shall be in writing and shall be filed and recorded with the county clerk.

(d)

1. In counties in which the sheriff’s office is under civil service, the sheriff and county shall place on leave of absence a deputy sheriff who is appointed by the sheriff to the position of undersheriff, upon the deputy’s acceptance of the appointment. A deputy sheriff in a county under civil service who is placed on leave of absence under this subdivision shall immediately be returned to the position of deputy sheriff without loss of any rights under the civil service law upon completion of the appointment unless the deputy sheriff is otherwise disciplined under s. 59.265 .

2.

a. Except as provided in subd. 2. b. , in counties in which the sheriff’s office is not under civil service, a deputy sheriff who is appointed undersheriff shall upon completion of the appointive position be returned to the position of deputy sheriff. Upon the return to the position of deputy sheriff, the person shall be placed at a rank determined by the sheriff and paid the same salary and provided the same tenure and seniority the person would have received had the person not taken the undersheriff appointment.

b. A sheriff may grant a deputy sheriff who is appointed undersheriff a leave of absence from the position of deputy sheriff. Upon completion of the appointive position, a person granted a leave of absence under this subdivision 2. b. shall be returned to the person’s former position without loss of any rights under the civil service law.

(2) Office and duties.

(a) The undersheriff shall also be known as the chief deputy sheriff and shall have the same powers and duties as a deputy sheriff.

(b)

1. Upon a vacancy in the office of sheriff, the undersheriff shall act as sheriff until the vacancy is filled.

2. Upon incapacity of the sheriff, the undersheriff shall act as sheriff until the sheriff returns and is no longer incapacitated or the office of sheriff becomes vacant. Incapacity under this subdivision shall be determined either by the sheriff or by the chief judge of the judicial administrative district in which the county is located. A petition to request the chief judge to declare incapacity shall be initiated by two-thirds vote of all supervisors entitled to seats on the county board and the chief judge shall hold any hearing and accept any evidence the chief judge deems appropriate. Any incapacity declared by the chief judge may be lifted upon application of the county board or sheriff following presentation of evidence the chief judge deems appropriate.

3. If the office of sheriff becomes vacant and there is no undersheriff, the county clerk shall submit proof of the vacancy to the presiding judge of the county’s circuit court. The presiding judge shall determine if the office is vacant based on the submission and, if the office is determined to be vacant, shall appoint a resident of the county to act as sheriff until the vacancy is filled. The appointment shall be in writing and shall be filed and recorded in the office of the clerk. Upon receipt of the filing, the clerk shall notify the appointed person of the appointment. No later than 10 days after receiving notification of the appointment, the appointee shall execute and file an official bond in the same amount and approved in the same manner provided for the sheriff. If the required bond is not executed and filed, the appointing judge shall appoint another person in the manner provided under this subdivision.

(c) If, on January 4, 2027, the chief deputy sheriff is a defined position under an ordinance or a collective bargaining agreement, a deputy sheriff then serving as chief deputy sheriff shall continue at the same salary and shall have the same tenure and seniority as to other deputy sheriffs that the person would have had if the chief deputy sheriff position had continued to be a civil service position or subject to the protections of a collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a sheriff in a county described in this paragraph is not required to appoint the chief deputy sheriff to the appointive position of undersheriff.

(3) Limitation on board authority. The board may not eliminate the office of undersheriff and may not assign the appointment of undersheriff to an authority other than the sheriff.

History: 1975 c. 198 ; 1977 c. 26 ; 1983 a. 27 ; 1983 a. 192 ss. 125 , 303 (1) ; 1989 a. 221 ; 1991 a. 39 , 316 ; 1993 a. 53 ; 1995 a. 201 s. 273 ; Stats. 1995 s. 59.26; 1995 a. 225 ss. 154 , 155 ; 2001 a. 9 , 107 ; 2003 a. 33 ss. 1523 , 9160 ; 2005 a. 40 ; 2009 a. 154 ; 2013 a. 20 ; 2015 a. 55 ; 2017 a. 207 s. 5 ; 2025 a. 196 .