Incorporation

Welcome to the Incorporation Page!

All information regarding incorporation will be posted here.


⬇️ NOTICE: Updates to this incorporation page are added in chronological order, with the most recent update posted at the bottom.

Please scroll down for the latest information. ⬇️

To provide clarity on this process, below are a few basic answers regarding incorporation.

  1.  What?
    – Incorporation allows the Town of Campbell to attain the full municipal powers of a village.
  2.  Why?
    – Incorporation will permanently preserve our borders, prevent annexations, and maintain the entire physical area within our boundaries.
  3.  Where?
    –  Incorporation will preserve our current boundaries and maintain our physical footprint.
  4.  How?
    – The incorporation process includes the publishing of the petition (done on September 21st), gathering signatures of individuals who are both landowners and qualified electors (completed), a court hearing and determination (done and approved on April 29th), review and determination by the Wisconsin State Department of Administration, and a referendum which all eligible voters may participate in.
  5. The published petition can be seen here: Incorporation Petition & Map
  6. When?
    – The petition can be signed beginning October 2, 2024, with the goal of gathering up to 2,000 signatures within 30 days.
  7. Why Now?
    – The Town of Campbell entered a boundary agreement with the City of La Crosse in 2004. That agreement prohibited us from petitioning for incorporation until July 1, 2024. That boundary agreement expires December 31, 2024. Our goal is to file all petition paperwork before December 31, 2024.

Incorporation Petition Hearing & Submittal

A hearing on the Town of Campbell’s incorporation petition was held on April 29, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. before the Honorable Scott L. Horne in Branch 4 of the La Crosse County Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center, 333 Vine Street, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Following the hearing, Judge Horne approved the petition for incorporation.

The incorporation submittal document is currently being prepared. Upon completion, both the petition and submittal will be submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Incorporation Review Board, which will determine whether to approve, deny, or modify the Town’s request.

On September 16th, 2025 the Town Board passed Resolution #2025-07 A Resolution Authorizing Incorporation Submittal for the “Village of French Island” to the Wisconsin Department of Administration. A copy of the resolution can be seen here Resolution 2025-07O

On October 1, 2025 the Town submitted the Incorporation Submittal for the “Village of French Island” to the Department of Administration’s (DOA) Incorporation Review Board (IBR) in Madison, WI.  The IRB has 180 days to review the petition and submit its findings on WI Statute 66.0207 standards to the court.  During this 180 day a party may request the Town to hold a public hearing before the Incorporation Review Board.  A request has been submitted to the DOA and the Public Hearing for Incorporation Submittal for the “Village of French Island” will be held Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at Celebrations on the River; at 4:00p.m.

Information on the Public Hearing and what to expect:

  • A public hearing is part of the formal process under Wis. Stats. § 66.0203 and related statutes wherein a proposed incorporation of a town (or part of one) is reviewed
  • The purpose is to allow interested residents, neighboring municipalities, and other “parties in interest” to express support, raise questions or objections, and hear from the petitioners who are requesting incorporation
  • Officials will review whether the proposed area meets required standards (such as compactness, population density, viability of services, financial capacity, homogeneity of the territory) under statute
  • The hearing offers an great opportunity for Residents and other stakeholders to speak, ask questions, or submit comments.

Link to La Crosse Tribune’s Public Hearing Published Notice: https://lacrossetribune.column.us/search?activeNotice=VTBU5Xc4f3JMcIidgXjd-0

Public Notice – DOA Incorporation Review Board Meeting

The Wisconsin Department of Administration Incorporation Review Board will hold a virtual meeting regarding the proposed incorporation of the Town of Campbell as the Village of French Island.

Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Virtual (Microsoft Teams)

This meeting is open to the public. The Board’s primary purpose for this meeting is to ask questions of legal counsel and parties involved as part of its review process.   The IRB may limit public comment to written responses.  Written responses are accept up to 10 business days after the meeting which would be February 17th, end of day. All interested parties may submit written comment/responses during that time frame.

The meeting agenda and Microsoft team access link are available here: 20260203_Campbell(French Island)_Agenda

Copying & Pasting this link into a browser page should bring you to the Teams Meeting:  https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmeetup-join%2F19%3Ameeting_MTYwNWQ2MWMtYWQyNS00ZjJiLWJiODEtZTllMGQ2MjY0OTNm%40thread.v2%2F0%3Fcontext%3D%257b%2522Tid%2522%3A%2522f4e2d11c-fae4-453b-b6c0-2964663779aa%2522%252c%2522Oid%2522%3A%2522d3b0c8b3-b51a-4e04-8e66-dcd1f8ec7f90%2522%257d%26anon%3Dtrue&type=meetup-join&deeplinkId=2379e93b-7b48-4e87-bc7d-ecbea740b516&directDl=true&msLaunch=true&enableMobilePage=true&suppressPrompt=true

20260203_Campbell(French Island)_Agenda