Wis. Stat. § 86.303 — WI Code / Chapter 86 / Section 86.303
Section 86.303
Status: in_force

(6) Eligible cost items. All public road, street or alley construction and maintenance expenditures within the right-of-way are generally reportable as eligible cost items.

(a) Maintenance items include without limitation because of enumeration:

1. Pavement and curb and gutter repair.

2. Maintenance of bridges, culverts and storm sewers.

3. Snow plowing and ice control.

4. Maintenance of traffic control devices.

(b) Construction items include without limitation because of enumeration:

1. Storm drainage systems, culverts and bridges.

2. Grading, base and surface.

3. Marking, signs and traffic control signals.

4. Engineering.

5. Right-of-way acquisition, including relocation assistance.

(c) The following other costs to the extent they are highway related are reportable:

1. Machinery and vehicle costs.

2. Expenditures for buildings required for road or street purposes.

3. Interest cost related to funds borrowed to finance any eligible cost item.

4. Street lighting costs.

(cm) Some portion of law enforcement costs determined by the department, in consultation with the representatives appointed under sub. (5) (am) , may be reported as eligible cost items. The department may establish different portions under this paragraph for different classes of counties or municipalities.

(d) Road, street or alley costs not eligible include costs that are financed with public funds other than road or street funds, items that are by statute, ordinance or local policy not a public expense or responsibility and all administrative costs. Costs not eligible include costs incurred on every way or place in private ownership and used for vehicular travel only by the owner and those having express or implied permission from the owner and every road, alley or driveway upon the grounds of public institutions.

(e) Cost data shall not include state or federal contributions to the work, all other public agency fund contributions, and all private contributions other than local assessments or special assessments paid by governmental agencies.

(f) The department shall provide a manual of cost reporting guidelines which further details eligible and ineligible costs.

(7) Cost review and audit.

(a) The department shall analyze the county and municipal highway-related cost data to identify that data that does not conform to reasonable averages and statistical groups or with previous reported costs. The department may request information from those municipalities or counties to explain the deviation. If not satisfied, the department may order the municipality or county to conduct and report to the department an independent certified audit of its financial report or, if the county or municipality has already conducted an audit of its financial report which complies with requirements under 31 USC 7501 to 7505 , may require the county or municipality to provide the department with an itemization of data comprising that audit. The costs of an audit or of providing the department itemized data comprising an audit shall be a reportable cost item if the audit substantially verifies the original financial report.

(b) If the county or municipality fails to conduct an independent audit when ordered to do so by the department, the aids payable during the following year shall be equal to 90 percent of the aids actually paid during the preceding year. If the department has reason to believe that the 90 percent payment will be greater than the actual payment should be, the department may itself order an independent audit and deduct the audit costs from the transportation aids paid to the county or municipality under s. 86.30 (2) . Any underpayment or overpayment of aids resulting from financial reporting errors shall be rectified by adjusting aids paid in the following year.

(c) Any municipality having a population of 2,500 or less which has submitted its financial report form may amend it prior to March 31 or prior to May 15 if a written request for extension has been received by the department of revenue. Any county or any municipality having a population over 2,500 which has submitted its financial report form may amend it prior to May 1 or prior to May 15 if a written request for extension has been received by the department of revenue. Any amendments shall be submitted to the department of revenue. Any county or municipality which desires to amend its financial report form after May 15 shall submit an independent, certified audit to the department of revenue no later than August 15.

(d) Any county or municipality that desires to amend past-year cost reports shall submit an independent, certified audit to the department. Any county or municipality that desires to amend past-year financial report forms shall submit amendments to the department of revenue.

History: 1977 c. 29 ; 1979 c. 34 , 221 ; 1981 c. 20 ; 1983 a. 27 , 192 , 405 ; 1985 a. 29 , 332 ; 1987 a. 27 ; 1989 a. 167 ; 1991 a. 39 ; 1995 a. 216 ; 1997 a. 106 ; 1999 a. 9 ; 2021 a. 102 .