Wisconsin Statutes
Wis. Stat. § 889.04 (2026)
County and municipal ordinances
✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
WI-LEGdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov
JustiaChapter on Justia
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
889.04889.04 County and municipal ordinances. Matter entered or recorded in any ordinance, record book, or other format authorized under ss. 59.23 (2) (b), 60.33 (1) and (2), 61.25 (3) and 62.09 (11) (c) or printed in any newspaper, book, pamphlet, or other form purporting to be so published, entered or recorded by any county, town, city or village in this state as a copy of its ordinance, bylaw, resolution or regulation, is prima facie evidence thereof; and after 3 years from the date of such publication, entry or recording such book or pamphlet shall be conclusive proof of the regularity of the adoption and publication of the ordinance, bylaw, resolution or regulation.
889.04 AnnotationWhen the proof of publication of an ordinance offered at trial did not textually conform to the exhibit that was tendered as the ordinance, the city clerk’s testimony that the purported ordinance was continuously in the possession of the city’s keeper of documents, along with the clerk’s identification of the city’s “Record of Council Meetings and Actions” that recited the passage of the ordinance, raised a presumption of regularity. That presumption was conclusive under this section. City of Lake Geneva v. Smuda, 75 Wis. 2d 532, 249 N.W.2d 783 (1977).
889.04 AnnotationThis section applies only to procedural errors in the adoption process. County board approval of a town zoning ordinance is not part of the adoption process. Stahl v. Town of Spider Lake, 149 Wis. 2d 230, 441 N.W.2d 250 (Ct. App. 1989).
889.04 AnnotationIn order for a charter ordinance to be entered or recorded under this section, the procedures of s. 66.0101 must be followed, which include a two-thirds vote of approval by the common council, publication of notices, filing of a certified copy with the secretary of state, and a 60-day waiting period to allow a referendum petition to be filed. Keller v. Kraft, 2005 WI App 102, 281 Wis. 2d 784, 698 N.W.2d 843, 04-1315.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8
cases, 1968–2013 · leading case: Kenosha Cnty. v. Town of Paris, 434 N.W.2d 801 (Wis. Ct. App. 1988).
Kenosha Cnty. v. Town of Paris, 434 N.W.2d 801 (Wis. Ct. App. 1988). “The trial court, relying on sec. 889.04, Stats., held that the county failed to act within three years of the publication of the town’s ordinance, thus losing its ability to challenge the original ordinance or any amendments which were on the books longer than three years.”
Bilda v. Cnty. of Milwaukee, 2006 WI App 57 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006). “over time Milwaukee County indirectly pays all of the administrative expenses of [the system].”
Keller v. Kraft, 2005 WI App 102 (Wis. Ct. App. 2005). “§ 889.04. The Kellers contend that its inclusion for years in the three-ring binder satisfies the requisite under § 889.”
City of Lake Geneva v. Smuda, 249 N.W.2d 783 (Wis. 1977). “The court found that this defect was cured by sec. 889.04, Stats. 2 The tendered exhibit does purport to be published by the city and the first paragraph states that it is an ordinance to promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare and to regulate buildings, other…”
Bilda v. Milwaukee Cnty., 2006 WI App 159 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006). “6 The County, relying on Wis. Stat. § 889.04 (2003-04), argues in the alternative that, because the ordinance had been *688 adopted more than three years prior to the time the parties moved for summary judgment, the ordinance must be deemed procedurally sound.”
McKinnon v. Benedict, 157 N.W.2d 665 (Wis. 1968). “Sec. 889.04, Stats., provides: “County and municipal ordinances.”
Stahl v. Town of Spider Lake, 441 N.W.2d 250 (Wis. Ct. App. 1989). “We conclude that sec. 889.04, Stats., cannot correct the town’s failure to obtain county board approval of its zoning ordinance, that sec.”
Flores v. Goeman, 2013 WI App 110 (Wis. Ct. App. 2013). “It has never been "entered or recorded in any ordinance or record book," pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 889.04 .... Further, section 3-23 is not contained in the three-volume set published as the "Milwaukee Code of Ordinances.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.