Wis. Stat. § 60.56

This is the official text of Wis. Stat. § 60.56, part of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Statutes — the complete compiled statutory law of Wisconsin, organized into numbered chapters by subject.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Law enforcement.

Official statutory text

(1) General authority.

(a) The town board may provide for law enforcement in the town or any portion of the town in any manner, including:

1. Establishing a town police department.

2. Joining with another town, village or city to create a joint police department. If the town board establishes a joint police department with a village under s. 61.65 (1) (a) 3. , the town board shall create a joint board of police commissioners with the village under s. 61.65 (1) (b) 1. b.

3. Contracting with any person.

4. Creating a combined protective services department under s. 60.553 .

(am) If a town board establishes a town police department under par. (a) 1. or 2. and does not create a board of police commissioners singly or in combination with another town, village or city, or if a town board establishes a combined protective services department under s. 60.553 and does not create a board of police and fire commissioners, the town may not suspend, reduce, suspend and reduce, or remove any police chief, chief of a combined protective services department, or other law enforcement officer who is not probationary, and for whom there is no valid and enforceable contract of employment or collective bargaining agreement which provides for a fair review prior to that suspension, reduction, suspension and reduction or removal, unless the town board does one of the following:

1. Establishes a committee of not less than 3 members, none of whom may be an elected or appointed official of the town or be employed by the town. The committee shall act under s. 62.13 (5) in place of a board of police and fire commissioners. The town board may provide for some payment to each member for the member’s cost of serving on the committee at a rate established by the town board.

2. Appoint a person who is not an elected or appointed official of the town and who is not employed by the town. The person shall act under s. 62.13 (5) in place of a board of police and fire commissioners. The town board may provide for some payment to that person for serving under this subdivision at a rate established by the town board.

(b) The town board may provide for the equipping, staffing, housing and maintenance of law enforcement services.

(2) Funding. The town board may appropriate money to fund law enforcement services.

History: 1983 a. 532 ; 1985 a. 166 ss. 1 , 8 ; 1987 a. 27 ; 2011 a. 32 .

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in Wisconsin?

Find a Wisconsin lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.