Abandoned Vehicles

Overview

Village Ordinance 106-22 states, in part, that vehicles left unattended under the following circumstances shall be deemed abandoned and constitute a public nuisance:

  • Vehicles parked, stopped or left standing upon any public street highway, alley or on any parking lot without the owner's permission in the Village for more than a 24-hour period
  • Vehicles parked, stopped or left standing upon any public street, highway, alley or municipal parking lot in the Village which are required to be registered under Wisconsin statute, unless such vehicle has properly attached to it a registration plate as required by statute

Abandoned Vehicle Procedure

When the police department deems a vehicle to be abandoned, the vehicle is issued a parking citation and arrangements are made to have it towed to a storage facility. Attempts are made to notify the last known owner of the vehicle as to the status of their vehicle.

If the owner fails to retrieve their vehicle, a vehicle transfer certificate is completed by the Village and ownership of the vehicle is assigned to a salvage dealer. The last known owner of the vehicle is still responsible for the parking citation and all towing and storage fees.

Consequences

Failure by the last known owner to satisfy any fines, towing and storage costs could result in one of more of the following:

  • Inability to register any vehicles in their name in the future (includes all fleet vehicles of a company)
  • Interception of future income tax returns
  • Suspension of all current vehicle registrations (including all fleet vehicles of a company)
  • Warrant for their arrest
  • Suspension of a driver's license

To Report an Abandoned Vehicle

If you observe a vehicle on a public highway meeting criteria mentioned in the above Village ordinance, please call the police department (262)446-5070 to report the abandoned vehicle.

If the vehicle is on private property, the property owner or their designee, or a Village representative, must initiate the abandoned vehicle process. Normally the property owner will not bear any of the costs unless the vehicle was last titled to them. This law is not intended to be used by business owners to relieve themselves of unclaimed customer's vehicles.