Maintenance of Effort Certification and Report

​​​​Below are the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) responses to questions regarding Maintenance of Effort (MOE) reporting, and Law Enforcement, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Certification under sec. 66.0608(2m), Wis. Stats.​

Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Report

Law Enforcement Certification

Fire/EMS Certification

Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Report

1. What is Form SL-305: Maintenance of Effort Report (MOE), who is required to file it and when is it due?

2. I'm a county clerk, and all our fire/EMS services are provided by the municipalities within the county. Do I still need to certify fire and EMS by completing Form SL-305: MOE Report?

Yes. All municipalities and counties must certify for fire/EMS. If your county provides no fire/EMS services, complete:

  • Form SL-307 – you can certify your expenditures and full-time equivalent (FTE) personnel were maintained at a level equivalent to the prior year (ex: zero expenditures and FTE)
  • Form SL-305: MOE Report – in Sec. B, select the same criteria and attach completed Form SL-307 in Sec. C
  • Note: Counties are not required to certify law enforcement (Sec. A of Form SL-305)

3. As a clerk, what should I do first and what documents do I need to e-file the Maintenance of Effort Report (MOE)?

4. Who is required to complete the SL-306: Law Enforcement Certification, SL-307: Combined Fire/EMS Certification, SL-308: Fire Certification, and/or SL-309: EMS Certification and how are the forms submitted to DOR?

5. How does a municipality complete the fire/EMS section of the SL-305: MOE Report if it belongs to one joint fire or joint EMS department?

6. How does a municipality complete the fire/EMS section of the SL-305: MOE Report if it belongs to multiple fire or EMS departments?

7. How does a municipality complete the fire/EMS section of the SL-305: MOE Report if it has a separate fire and EMS department?

8. What is required for MOE reporting if a municipality receives free law enforcement, fire, or EMS services?

  • In this scenario, the person(s) in charge of providing law enforcement service and fire/EMS (ex: police chief, fire chief, EMS chief, EMS director, etc.) to the municipality must complete the appropriate certification(s) and submit it to the municipal or county clerk.
  • The law enforcement and fire/EMS services provided in the current year must be maintained to a level that is at least equivalent to that provided in the prior year
  • Example: number of FTE, response times, $0 municipal expenditures, etc.
  • Clerk then uses the certification(s) to e-file Form SL-305: MOE Report

9. Can a municipality or county certify different criteria from what it certified in the prior year?

Yes. A municipality is not required to certify using the same criteria each year. However, a municipality or county must maintain law enforcement, fire, and EMS services at a level that is at least equivalent to the level provided in the prior year. Because of this, you may want to calculate all the certification items each year, even if you are not selecting to certify those items in that given year.

To avoid a penalty, each year:

10. If in any year a municipality or county fails to make a certification by not filing or by not meeting the required criteria, what information should it use for certification in the following year?

In the following year, for law enforcement, fire, or EMS certification, a municipality or county must compare its current year levels for each criterion to either:

11. Is there a penalty for not filing the SL-305: MOE Report, filing late, or for failing to satisfy the requirements under 66.0608(2m)?

Yes. If in any year a county or municipality does not satisfy the requirements under sec. 66.0608(2m), Wis. Stats., DOR must reduce the county's or municipality's total aid payments by 15% in the next year, under secs. 79.036 and 79.037, Wis. Stats.

12. Will DOR provide examples showing how the person responsible for providing the service can complete the certification calculations?

In the next two sections, DOR provides examples you can choose to use. However, it is important to note, it may be reasonable for your municipality or county to calculate each criterion of the MOE requirements in another manner. Remember, this is a certification that allows for any reasonable and accurate methodology to be utilized.

13. What should a municipality or county do if there is a vacancy in the police/fire/EMS chief or director position?

  • The person in charge of providing law enforcement, fire protection or EMS within the municipality or county must complete the certification
  • If the police/fire/EMS chief or director position is vacant, request the deputy police/fire/EMS chief or director complete the certification

14. If a municipality or county provides contracted public safety services to another community, how should it complete its MOE reporting?

  • To the extent possible, only consider:
    • Expenditures for public safety services provided within your municipality or county. Do not include expenditures incurred due to contracted services provided for other communities.
    • FTE employed by or assigned to your municipality or county.
    • Response times for calls within your municipality or county.

Law Enforcement Certification

1. Who is required to complete the law enforcement certification?

Every municipality with a population greater than 20,000 must complete the law enforcement certification, unless the municipality:

2. Do we have to complete the SL-305: MOE Report if law enforcement services are provided solely by the county sheriff on a non-contractual basis; or the municipality consolidated its law enforcement services with another political subdivision in the prior year; or newly established a law enforcement agency or joined a newly established law enforcement agency in the prior year?

3. How do we determine "monies raised by tax levy by the municipality and expended for employment costs of law enforcement officers?"

A municipality may be able to extract this information from its accounting software. If not, two methods for calculating this amount are provided below, comparing actual data for each calendar year (ex: 2024 compared to 2023). Note: These calculations may not be appropriate for all scenarios. For example, if your municipality passes a referendum specifically for law enforcement, it may know and use the specific amount being allocated towards law enforcement officer employment costs.

The calculations below would be completed for each calendar year using the actual data for 2024 (ex: January 1, 2024 thru may 31, 2024) compared to the full calendar year 2023 (ex: January 1, 2023 thru December 31, 2023) or partial year 2023 (ex: January 1, 2023 thru May 31, 2023).

The calculations below would be completed for each budget year.

Calculation Method #1

Calculation Method #2

4. How do we determine "the percentage of the total monies raised by tax levy by the municipality that is expended for employment costs of law enforcement officers?"

A municipality may be able to extract this information from its accounting software. If not, a method for calculating this amount is provided below, comparing each calendar year. Use the actual data for 2024 (ex: January 1, 2024 thru May 31, 2024) compared to the full calendar year 2023 (ex: January 1, 2023 thru December 31, 2023) or partial year 2023 (ex: January 1, 2023 thru May 31, 2023).

Calculation Method

5. How do we determine "the number of full-time equivalent law enforcement officers employed by or assigned to the municipality, not including officers whose positions are funded by grants received from the state or federal government?"

Fire/EMS Certification

1. Who is required to complete the fire/EMS certification?

Every municipality and county must complete the fire/EMS certification, unless the county or municipality:

2. Do we have to complete the SL-305: MOE Report if the municipality or county consolidated its fire/EMS services with another political subdivision in the prior year; or entered into a contract with a private entity to provide fire protective or EMS services in the prior year; or newly established an EMS agency or joined a newly established EMS agency in the prior year?

3. How do we determine "the expenditures for fire protective and EMS services, not including capital expenditures or expenditures of grant monies received from the state or federal government?"

4. How do we determine "the number of full-time equivalent firefighters and EMS personnel employed by or assigned to the municipality or county, not including firefighters and EMS personnel whose positions are funded by grants received from the state or federal government?"

5. How do we determine "the level of training of and maintenance of licensure for firefighters and EMS personnel providing fire protective and EMS services within the municipality or county?"

6. How do we determine "response times for fire protective and EMS services throughout the municipality or county, adjusted for the location of calls for service?"