8.1 WHAT IS A TOWN?

History of Towns Towns date back to the early days of colonial America They are the form of government closest to a “direct democracy,” a system in which every person takes a direct part The town came to Wisconsin from New York and New England, and was first authorized in 1827 when Wisconsin was a territory

Location Any area in Wisconsin not in a city or village is part of a town Towns play an important part in providing services to people in rural areas

Basic Town Facts Towns serve 1.7 million residents, or 30.1% of the state’s population The 1,257 towns in Wisconsin vary widely in size The largest (Menominee) contains square miles Germantown is the smallest at 1.7 square miles Populations vary from fewer than 50 residents to over 23,000 More than 1,000 towns have populations under 2,000; only 59 exceed 4,000

Town Services Residents depend on town government to provide basic services such as: maintaining roads holding elections collecting taxes maintaining order

Town Trivia Scattered throughout rural Wisconsin are small built-up areas with signs identifying these crossroads as unincorporated villages The term “unincorporated village” is used solely for identification purposes These hamlets are actually under town government control

Urban Towns A town or part of a town in a heavily populated area often looks like a city or village Town residents might decide to break off from the town by establishing their own separate city or village government, or by attaching their area to an existing city or village The town might even cease to exist if it is combined with another government unit

8.2 POWERS OF THE TOWN

State Limits on Towns State law allows cities and villages more choices than towns as to how they organize and what services they provide Cities and villages are free to decide which officials and department heads they will use to run their governments— towns are required to have the same set of officers

Town Meeting Some decisions on town operations are made by direct action of qualified voters at the annual town meeting Voters determine what the town will do within the limits of state law Sometimes, special meetings are held The town meeting is one of the few remaining examples of direct democracy

Town Officials The job of running the town is handled by the town board—usually made up of three supervisors, one of whom is elected chair Supervisors are elected in odd-numbered years at the spring election to two-year terms Other elected town officials include a town clerk, a treasurer, an assessor, and in some cases, a constable who helps keep the peace In nearly all cases, town officials are only part time

Town Clerk The duties of town officials are set by law The town clerk: acts as secretary for the town meeting and the town board records all official proceedings has charge of the town’s official records keeps records of the town’s finances supervises elections held in the town

Town Treasurer The town treasurer has charge of a town’s money This involves: paying the town bills collecting taxes and other revenues Reporting financial information to the state

Town Income Dollar (2011)

Town Expenditure Dollar (2011)