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![handle is hein.sag/sagwi2023 and id is 1 raw text is:
; STATE OF WISCONSIN
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Josh Kaul Room 114 East, State Capitol
Attorney General P.O. Box 7857
Madison, WI 53707-7857
(608) 266-1221
TTY 1-800-947-3529
June 22, 2023
OAG-01-23
Ms. Rhonda K. Gorden
Ozaukee County Corporation Counsel
1201 South Spring Street
Port Washington, WI 53074
Dear Corporation Counsel Gorden:
¶ 1. You have requested an opinion about the interplay between Wis. Stat.
§§ 82.08 and 84.18, statutes providing for funding for the construction and repair of
bridges. Specifically, you ask whether section 82.08 allows a town to apply for funds
from a county for the remaining cost of a bridge project after section 84.18 funds have
already been obtained for the project. Based upon the statutes' plain language and
the statutory context, I conclude that the answer is no. A town cannot utilize funding
under both provisions and still comply with the statutes' conflicting requirements for
which entity supervises a project.
¶ 2. Your request relates to funding a bridge project in the Town of
Cedarburg. The Town received approval from the Wisconsin Department of
Transportation for a bridge project under Wis. Stat. § 84.18. Pursuant to Wis. Stat.
§ 84.18(3), DOT will provide funding for 80% of the cost of the project. The Town then
petitioned Ozaukee County under Wis. Stat. § 82.08(1) to request that the County
share in funding the remaining 20% of the project's cost.
¶ 3. The question is whether funding under Wis. Stat. § 82.08(1) is available
for a project already funded under Wis. Stat. § 84.18. That question can be answered
by analyzing the text of both statutes.
¶ 4. The first statute, Wis. Stat. § 84.18, is entitled Local bridge program
and establishes a program to accelerate the reconstruction or rehabilitation of
seriously deteriorating local bridges. Wis. Stat. § 84.18(1). DOT administers the
program, which provides an entitlement of funds to the [c]oordinating agency,
namely, the county which coordinates the submission of applications from eligible](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagwi2023&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)