Town of Rib Mountain v. Marathon Cnty.
| Decision Date | 05 June 2018 |
| Docket Number | Appeal No. 2017AP2021 |
| Parties | TOWN OF RIB MOUNTAIN, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. MARATHON COUNTY, Town of McMillan, Town of Mosinee, Town of Stettin, Town of Texas, Town of Wausau and Town of Weston, Defendants–Respondents. |
| Court | Wisconsin Court of Appeals |
On behalf of the plaintiff-appellant, the cause was submitted on the briefs of Kevin J.T Terry, Dean R. Dietrich and Benjamin E. Streckert of Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C., Wausau.
On behalf of the defendant-respondent, Marathon County, the cause was submitted on the brief of Scott M. Corbett, corporation counsel, Wausau.
Before Stark, P.J., Hruz and Seidl, JJ.
¶ 1 This appeal involves a dispute between the Town of Rib Mountain (Rib Mountain) and Marathon County (the County) regarding the County’s plan to implement a uniform addressing system in all unincorporated areas of the County. Rib Mountain argues the County exceeded its statutory authority because WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m) (2015-16)1 permit the County to implement such a system only in unincorporated areas that also qualify as "rural." We agree with Rib Mountain’s interpretation of § 59.54(4) and (4m). We therefore reverse the circuit court’s judgment denying Rib Mountain’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief and remand for further proceedings on those claims.
¶ 2 On February 16, 2016, the County enacted Ordinance #O-7-16 (the Ordinance), mandating the creation of a uniform addressing system in the County. According to the Ordinance, the County’s intent in implementing this system was "to assign each location a unique address which will aid emergency personal [sic] in providing fire protection, emergency medical services, and law enforcement services; and meet other general locational needs such as delivery services of the public." The Ordinance stated the uniform addressing system would apply "to each road, home, business, farm, structure, or other establishments [sic] in the unincorporated areas of the County."2 Towns are unincorporated under Wisconsin law, unlike villages and cities. See, e.g. , WIS. STAT. § 60.05 (); WIS. STAT. §§ 66.0201 - 66.0213 ().
¶ 3 Consistent with the authority granted by the Ordinance, the County published a draft Uniform Addressing Implementation Plan (the Plan) on January 11, 2017. The Plan required all towns in the County to participate in the County’s uniform addressing system. It asserted the County had "jurisdiction over addressing in unincorporated areas based on [ WIS. STAT. §] 59.54(4) and (4m)." Those subsections provide:
Sec. 59.54(4) and (4m).
¶ 4 The County subsequently notified Rib Mountain—a town located in the County—that it would be required to rename 61 of its 202 roads. In response, Rib Mountain filed the instant lawsuit against the County, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Rib Mountain argued the County’s authority to implement a naming or numbering system under WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m) extended only to "rural" areas in towns, rather than to all unincorporated areas of the County. Rib Mountain contended the County had "failed to consider" whether the roads affected by its Plan were in rural areas and therefore fell within the County’s "statutory authority to implement a naming and numbering system upon." Rib Mountain further alleged that some of the roads it would be required to rename under the County’s Plan had previously been "identified ... as roads located in urban areas" by either the Marathon County Metropolitan Planning Commission or the United States Census Bureau.4 (Emphasis omitted.)
¶ 5 On August 31, 2017, following briefing by Rib Mountain and the County, the circuit court issued a decision denying Rib Mountain’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief. The court agreed with the County that the term "rural" in WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m) meant "unincorporated" and was not "intended as a way of excluding urban areas." As support for that conclusion, the court cited the plain language and history of § 59.54(4) and (4m), along with this court’s decision in Liberty Grove Town Board v. Door County Board of Supervisors , 2005 WI App 166, 284 Wis. 2d 814, 702 N.W.2d 33. The court therefore declared that the County’s Plan and Ordinance "[did] not violate § 59.54(4) by including urbanized parts of Rib Mountain or any other town." Rib Mountain now appeals.
¶ 6 This appeal requires us to interpret WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m). Statutory interpretation presents a question of law that we review independently. Wisconsin Prof’l Police Ass’n v. WERC , 2013 WI App 145, ¶ 11, 352 Wis. 2d 218, 841 N.W.2d 839.
¶ 7 When interpreting a statute, our objective "is to determine what the statute means so that it may be given its full, proper, and intended effect." State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court for Dane Cty. , 2004 WI 58, ¶ 44, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110. Our analysis begins with the plain language of the statute. Id. , ¶ 45. "Statutory language is given its common, ordinary, and accepted meaning, except that technical or specially-defined words or phrases are given their technical or special definitional meaning." Id. In addition, statutory language must be interpreted "in the context in which it is used; not in isolation but as part of a whole; in relation to the language of surrounding or closely-related statutes; and reasonably, to avoid absurd or unreasonable results." Id. , ¶ 46. Where possible, we must read statutory language so as to "give reasonable effect to every word, in order to avoid surplusage." Id.¶ 8 We are not at liberty to disregard a statute’s plain, clear words. Id. Consequently, if the analytical process described above "yields a plain, clear statutory meaning, then there is no ambiguity, and the statute is applied according to this ascertainment of its meaning." Id. (quoting Bruno v. Milwaukee Cty. , 2003 WI 28, ¶ 20, 260 Wis. 2d 633, 660 N.W.2d 656 ). However, if the statute is ambiguous—that is, reasonably susceptible to more than one interpretation—we examine extrinsic sources, such as legislative history, to ascertain the legislature’s intent. Id. , ¶¶ 47, 50-51.
¶ 9 As an initial matter, the parties dispute whether the word "rural" in WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m) actually limits a county’s authority to implement a uniform addressing system. The County cites Liberty Grove , in which we stated the "only condition" on a county’s authority to implement a road naming system under § 59.54(4) and (4m)"is that [the system] be related to fire protection, emergency services or civil defense." Liberty Grove , 284 Wis. 2d 814, ¶ 13, 702 N.W.2d 33. The County argues this statement shows that the word "rural" in § 59.54(4) and (4m) does not restrict a county’s authority to implement a road naming or numbering system.
¶ 10 The County’s reliance on Liberty Grove is misplaced. The issue in that case was whether a town had exclusive authority to name roads within its jurisdiction under WIS. STAT. § 60.23(17) (2003-04) and WIS. STAT. § 81.01(11) (2001-02), or whether the town’s authority was instead subject to a county’s power to rename roads under WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m) (2003-04).5 See Liberty Grove , 284 Wis. 2d 814, ¶ 7, 702 N.W.2d 33. We concluded:
[A] town has initial authority to name town roads by virtue of WIS. STAT. § 81.01(11). However, the town’s authority is subject to the county’s discretionary authority, under WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4), to establish a road naming and numbering system for the specific purpose of aiding in fire protection, emergency services and civil defense. A county may cooperate with a town regarding road name changes. See WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4m). Ultimately, however, a county has authority to implement name changes, even if a town does not consent, when the name changes are made under the system pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 59.54.
Liberty Grove , 284 Wis. 2d 814, ¶ 15, 702 N.W.2d 33.
¶ 11 When we stated in Liberty Grove that the "only condition" on a county’s authority to rename roads was that its road naming system "be related to fire protection, emergency services or civil defense," we were simply responding to—and rejecting—Liberty Grove’s argument that a county could only implement a road naming system under WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4)and (4m) in cooperation with a town. Liberty Grove , 284 Wis. 2d 814, ¶ 13, 702 N.W.2d 33. We were not asked to address whether the word "rural" in those subsections further limited a county’s authority to implement a naming or numbering system. Our decision in Liberty Grove therefore should not be read to foreclose that interpretation.
¶ 12 The County next argues the word "rural" in WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m) simply describes the type of naming or numbering system a county may implement and does not limit the locations where such a system can be imposed. Conversely, Rib Mountain argues the legislature’s use of the word "rural" in § 59.54(4) and (4m) unambiguously demonstrates that it intended to restrict a county’s naming and numbering authority to "rural" areas.
¶ 13 We agree with Rib Mountain. In both WIS. STAT. § 59.54(4) and (4m), the legislature...
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Town of Rib Mountain v. Marathon Cnty.
...for declaratory relief.¶5 The Town appealed, and the court of appeals reversed the circuit court. Town of Rib Mountain v. Marathon Cty., 2018 WI App 42, 383 Wis. 2d 493, 916 N.W.2d 164. The court of appeals determined Marathon County could implement a naming or numbering system only in "uni......