Annexations to cities of the first class
Wis. Stat. § 62.071
in effect(1) Except as provided in subs. (3) and (4), no petition for annexation to a city operating its schools under ch. 119 shall be considered which will result in detachment of more than 20 percent of the equalized value of a school district. Upon receipt of a petition for annexation the city clerk shall determine in the following manner whether the proposed annexation will result in such detachment. The equalized value of the school district shall be determined as of the date of filing the petition for annexation. The city clerk shall add to the equalized value of the territory proposed to be annexed, as of the date of filing the petition for annexation, the equalized value as of the date of such detachment of any territory detached within the 3 years previous to the filing of the annexation petition from the district in any manner, and the city clerk shall certify a copy of his or her determination to the school district clerk and the secretary of the school district boundary appeal board. If the total of such value exceeds 20 percent of the equalized value of the district as of the date of filing the annexation petition, the proposed annexation shall not occur except as provided in subs. (3) and (4). All equalized values shall be determined by the department of revenue upon application by the city clerk. When more than one school district is involved in a proposed annexation, a separate determination shall be made for each district involved.
(2) If the common council wishes to consider the annexation petition, it shall direct the city clerk to notify the clerk of each school district concerned and the secretary of the school district boundary appeal board that a petition for annexation, which will result in detachment of more than 20 percent of a school district, has been filed. Such notice shall be in writing and shall describe the territory proposed to be annexed and name the school district or districts from which it will be detached.
(3) If the area to be annexed by such proposal includes more than 20 percent of the equalized valuation of a district, as determined by sub. (1), then the electors residing in the remainder of such school district not included in the annexation petition shall be afforded an opportunity to determine whether such remaining area of the district shall be included with the area proposed to be annexed in the following manner. The school district clerk shall, within 20 days of receipt of the report from the city clerk, call a special meeting of the district according to s. 120.08 (2) for the purpose of voting on the question: “Shall the remainder of .... School District No. .... of the .... be included in the territory and petition for annexation to the City of ....?”.
(4) If the vote at the school district referendum is negative, the annexation proceedings on the original petition may continue in the same manner as if less than 20 percent of the district had been involved in the original petition.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/62.071Fetched: 10/7/2026