Subject to availability of funds, the department shall determine annual grant amounts for eligible projects under s. Adm 47.03, by October 15, of each year. A grant may not exceed $100,000. The department may award more than one grant to a county board. Any funds not granted in any given year shall remain available for general distribution to eligible local units of government, at the discretion of the department in future grant cycles. In carrying out its duties under this section, including setting priorities for grant funding, the department may seek advice and assistance from state agencies, local governmental units, and other experts involved in collecting and managing land information. The department may provide the following grant categories:

1. (1) Training and education grants as provided in s. Adm 47.03 (5), shall be available to provide the county land information officer or the officer’s designee with training for the design, development and implementation of a land information system. A county may receive up to $300 to participate in workshops and courses provided by institutions of higher education, professional land information organizations or land information system vendors.
2. (2) Land information system base budget grants for eligible projects and activities provided in s. Adm 47.03 (1) through (5), shall be available to provide a minimum funding level to enable a county land information office to develop, maintain and operate a basic land information system. To be eligible for this category, the fees that a county retained under the provisions of s. 59.72 (5) (b), Stats., shall be less than $50,000 for the preceding fiscal year.
3. (3) Local government contribution based grants shall be available to fund eligible projects and activities as provided in s. Adm 47.03 (1) through (5), that are consistent with the countywide plan for land records modernization. A county may receive an amount equal to the available funds divided proportionately according to the rate of county fee submittals under s. 59.72 (5) (a), Stats., for the preceding fiscal year.

4. (4) Strategic initiative grants for eligible projects and activities as provided in s. Adm 47.03 (1) through (5), for expediting and fostering statewide and regional strategic initiatives consistent with specific statutory requirements and standards adopted by the department.

   Note: The Wisconsin Land Information program statutes and the standards adopted by the Department may be obtained from the Department’s Land Information Program at P.O. Box 8944, Madison, Wisconsin or at the following website: http://www.doa.state.wi.us/dir/index.asp.

History

History: Cr. Register, May, 2000, No. 533, eff. 6-1-00; CR 06-084: am. (intro.), (2) and (4), Register December 2006 No. 612, eff. 1-1-07.