2023 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations › Chapter 59 - Counties. › 59.22 - Compensation, fees, salaries and traveling expenses of officials and employees.

59.22
Compensation, fees, salaries and traveling expenses of officials and employees.
(1)
Elective officials.
(a)
1.
The board shall, before the earliest time for filing nomination papers for any elective office to be voted on in the county, other than supervisors and circuit judges, which officer is paid in whole or part from the county treasury, establish the total annual compensation for services to be paid to the officer exclusive of reimbursements for expenses out-of-pocket provided for in sub. (3). Except as provided in subd. 2., the annual compensation may be established by resolution or ordinance, on a basis of straight salary, fees, or part salary and part fees, and if the compensation established is a salary, or part salary and part fees, it shall be in lieu of all fees, including per diem and other forms of compensation for services rendered, except those specifically reserved to the officer in the resolution or ordinance. The compensation established shall not be increased nor diminished during the officer's term and shall remain for ensuing terms unless changed by the board. Court fees shall not be used for compensation for county officers.
2.
The board shall establish the annual compensation of the sheriff as straight salary. No portion of that salary may include or be based on retention of fees by the sheriff. No portion of that salary may be based on providing food to prisoners under s. 302.37 (1). This subdivision does not prohibit the reimbursement of a sheriff for actual and necessary expenses.
(b)
Any officer authorized or required to collect fees appertaining to his or her office shall keep a complete record of all fees received in the form prescribed by the board and shall file a record of the total annual receipts in the clerk's office within 20 days of the close of the calendar year or at such other times as the board requires. Any officer on a salary basis or part fees and part salary shall collect all fees authorized by law appertaining to his or her office and shall remit all fees not specifically reserved to the officer by enumeration in the compensation established by the board under par. (a) to the treasurer at the end of each month unless a shorter period for remittance is otherwise provided.
(2)
Appointive officials; deputy officers; and employees.
(a)
Except for elective offices included under sub. (1), supervisors and circuit judges, and subject to s. 59.794 (3), the board has the powers set forth in this subsection, sub. (3) and s. 59.03 (1) as to any office, department, board, commission, committee, position or employee in county service created under any statute, the salary or compensation for which is paid in whole or in part by the county, and the jurisdiction and duties of which lie within the county or any portion thereof and the powers conferred by this section shall be in addition to all other grants of power and shall be limited only by express language.
(c)
1.
Except as provided in subd. 2. and par. (d), the board may do any of the following:
a.
Provide, fix or change the salary or compensation of any office, board, commission, committee, position, employee or deputies to elective officers that is subject to sub. (1) without regard to the tenure of the incumbent.
b.
Establish the number of employees in any department or office including deputies to elective officers.
c.
Establish regulations of employment for any person paid from the county treasury.
2.
No action of the board may be contrary to or in derogation of the rules of the department of children and families under s. 49.78 (4) to (7) relating to employees administering old-age assistance, aid to families with dependent children, aid to the blind, or aid to totally and permanently disabled persons or ss. 63.01 to 63.17.
(d)
The board or any board, commission, committee or agency to which the board or statutes has delegated the authority to manage and control any institution or department of the county government may contract for the services of employees, setting up the hours, wages, duties and terms of employment for periods not to exceed 2 years.
(e)
The board may provide and appropriate money for an employee awards program to encourage and to reward unusual and meritorious suggestions and accomplishments by county employees.
(3)
Reimbursement for expense. The board may provide for reimbursement to any elective officer, deputy officer, appointive officer or employee for any out-of-pocket expense incurred in the discharge of that person's duty in addition to that person's salary or compensation, including without limitation because of enumeration, traveling expenses, tuition costs incurred in attending courses of instruction clearly related to that person's employment, and the board may establish standard allowances for mileage, room and meals, the purposes for which allowances may be made, and determine the reasonableness and necessity for such reimbursements, and also establish in advance a fair rate of compensation to be paid to the sheriff for the board and care of prisoners in the county jail at county expense. Any reimbursement paid under this subsection to an officer or employee of a county with a population of 750,000 or more is subject to the budget limitation described in s. 59.60 (7e).
(3a)
Commission on aging. The board may provide for the payment of expenses and a per diem to persons appointed to a county commission on aging under s. 59.53 (11).
(4)
Interpretation. In the event of conflict between this section and any other statute, this section to the extent of the conflict shall prevail.
History:  1973 c. 118; 1977 c. 372; 1981 c. 317; 1987 a. 181; 1989 a. 48, 107; 1991 a. 316; 1995 a. 27 ss. 3287, 9126 (19); 1995 a. 201 ss. 257 to 260; Stats. 1995 s. 59.22; 1995 a. 225 s. 146; 1997 a. 35; 1999 a. 83; 2003 a. 33; 2007 a. 20; 2013 a. 14.
Sub. (1) (a) 1.'s prohibition of increasing or diminishing certain elected county officials' compensation during their terms of office does not preclude adjustments to fringe benefits. The statute expressly protects only salaries and fees. Cramer v. Eau Claire County, 2013 WI App 67, 348 Wis. 2d 154, 833 N.W.2d 172, 12-1796.
The sheriff does not have unilateral statutory authority under s. 59.26 (2) to determine the total number of deputies to be appointed. This section plainly provides that a county board may establish the number of employees in any department or office including deputies to elective officers, and this section prevails over s. 59.26 (2). Thus, the county board, and not the sheriff, has the authority to regulate the number of law enforcement officers employed by the county. Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Ass'n v. Milwaukee County, 2016 WI App 56, 370 Wis. 2d 644, 883 N.W.2d 154, 15-1577.
The only reasonable interpretation of the phrase “created under any statute" under sub. (2) (a) is that the phrase modifies the string of nouns that comes before the word “employee," namely, “office, department, board, commission, committee, and position." What must be “created under any statute" are the various kinds of offices and positions, not employees. Lipscomb v. Abele, 2018 WI App 58, 384 Wis. 2d 1, 918 N.W.2d 434, 17-1023.
The verbs “provide, fix, or change" under sub. (2) (c) 1. a. establish a broad power for county boards to determine compensation levels for all unclassified county positions. However, under sub. (2) (a), the power is controlled by the power of the Milwaukee County Executive under s. 59.794 (3) to exercise day-to-day control of any county department or subunit of a department. In other words, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors can provide, fix, or change the pay of unclassified employees, unless and until board action interferes with the Milwaukee County Executive's day-to-day control of a county department or subunit. Lipscomb v. Abele, 2018 WI App 58, 384 Wis. 2d 1, 918 N.W.2d 434, 17-1023.
The Milwaukee County Executive's day-to-day control power under s. 59.794 (3) (a) has the express intent of removing and clarifying some authority of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors (Board) under sub. (2) and increasing and clarifying the authority of the Milwaukee County Executive. The Milwaukee County Executive's day-to-day control power prevents the Board from taking actions that effectively direct what duties may or must be accomplished by employees or officers or how they may or must perform those duties, even when a Board action may result in a compensation change. Lipscomb v. Abele, 2018 WI App 58, 384 Wis. 2d 1, 918 N.W.2d 434, 17-1023.
A county ordinance implementing a collective bargaining agreement providing for the payment to county employees, upon their leaving government employment, compensation for accumulated sick leave, earned both before and after the effective date of the ordinance, is valid. 59 Atty. Gen. 209.
A county board may not adopt a step-salary plan for elective offices related to experience of the officeholder as compensation is for the office, not the officer, and the officer is entitled to the compensation as an incident of the office. 61 Atty. Gen. 165, 403.
When it is the duty of a county traffic officer to testify or assist in the prosecution of county traffic offenses, the officer is not entitled to witness fees but may be paid additional compensation if a court appearance takes place outside regular working hours. 62 Atty. Gen. 93.
A county board may not deny a salary to an elected official during a period of sickness. A board does not have power to establish sick leave and vacation benefits for elected county officials. 65 Atty. Gen. 62.
The authority to establish salaries for the staff employed by a county's 51.42/51.437 board lies with that board, subject to the general budgetary control of the county board. 65 Atty. Gen. 105.
Discretionary authority to grant increases to elected county officials based upon performance or length of service may not be delegated to a committee of the county board because the board itself lacks the authority to establish such a compensation scheme. 80 Atty. Gen. 258.