Section 67.01. Definitions and interpretations.

  In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:

(1)  “Clerk" includes the secretary of the metropolitan sewerage commission under s. 200.27 (4) .

(2)  “Governing body" includes a town or county board, the legislative body of a city or village, the commission of a metropolitan sewerage district created under ss. 200.21 to 200.65 and the board of any other municipality enumerated in sub. (5) .

(3)  “Initial resolution" means any resolution adopted pursuant to s. 67.05 (1) or (2) , by which a proceeding is instituted for the purpose of authorizing a municipality to borrow money and issue bonds or other municipal obligations.

(5)  “Municipality" means any of the following which is authorized to levy a tax: a county, city, village, town, school district, board of park commissioners, technical college district, metropolitan sewerage district created under ss. 200.01 to 200.15 or 200.21 to 200.65 , town sanitary district under subch. IX of ch. 60 , public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district established under s. 33.23 , 33.235 , or 33.24 , and any other public body empowered to borrow money and issue obligations to repay the money out of public funds or revenues. “Municipality" does not include the state.

(6)  “Municipal obligation" includes every lawful promise or engagement in writing by a municipality to pay at a specified future time a specified sum of money.

(7)  “Recorded" means copied at length in the record book required by s. 67.05 (12) .

(8)  Every reference to the population of a municipality refers to its population according to the last United States census; and every reference to the value of the taxable property in a municipality refers to such value as equalized for state purposes.

(9)  This chapter is not applicable to appropriation bonds issued by a county under s. 59.85 or by a 1st class city under s. 62.62 and, except for ss. 67.08 (1) , 67.09 , and 67.10 , is not applicable:

(a) To the borrowing of moneys belonging to the common school fund, the normal school fund, the university fund or the agricultural college fund; all of which borrowing shall continue to be regulated by subch. II of ch. 24 .

(b) To the issue or payment of street, sewer, harbor or other improvement bonds or certificates which do not constitute a general liability of the municipality issuing them, and for the payment of which specified portions only of the taxable property in such municipality are taxable.

(d) To drainage bonds issued by authority of ch. 88 , 1963 stats., or of ch. 89 , 1963 stats., as it existed prior to January 1, 1965, or of ch. 88 .

(g) To revenue bonds and revenue bond anticipation notes issued for the purpose of purchasing, acquiring, constructing, extending, adding to or improving public utilities under ss. 62.69 , 66.0621 and 66.0801 to 66.0827 , nor to refunding bonds authorized under s. 66.0621 (4) (b) , nor to commercial paper issued under s. 200.55 (1) (fa) , nor to public improvement bonds authorized under s. 66.0619 .

(h) To contractor's certificates or special assessment B bonds issued under s. 66.0713 except as provided in that section or to general obligation-local improvement bonds issued under s. 67.16 , except as provided in that section.

Wisconsin municipal debt finance: An outlook for the eighties. Schilling, Griggs and Ebert, 63 MLR 539 (1980).