2023 Revaluation Notice
In August of 2021, the City Assessor’s office began performing a five-year city-wide review of all property assessments which involve a sales analysis and exterior inspections. As a reminder, the exterior inspections will continue each year until 2026 as well as a market update to the assessment values.
In an effort to achieve equitable assessments statewide, the State of Wisconsin, Department of Revenue mandates that all municipalities in the State of Wisconsin be valued at 100% of market value, and that assessments be kept within 10% of that value. The property assessments in the City of Sheboygan were below the required standard and out of compliance with the Department of Revenue. Therefore, an update of the assessment values of all taxable property was required to be done. Grota Appraisals with the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and state of the art appraisal software preformed a revaluation to update all taxable property to be compliant as of January 1, 2022 and continue this through.
On May 12, 2023, 3,579 walk-around/exterior inspection letters were distributed to property owners within the 4th Tax District (South West area of the City that is South of Georgia Ave and West of South 12th Street). Our staff will be in that area starting this week and will continue until the exterior inspections are complete for Tax District #4.
The inspection process will include an exterior inspection only of the primary structure or residence that involves exterior measurements, exterior listing, and taking exterior photos. All other buildings such as sheds, garages, etc. will be verified for size and condition. This data will be compared to sales information, cost and depreciation schedules, and an estimated value will be made. The new assessments from the exterior inspections of your property for the 4th Tax District will be effective as of January 1, 2024, and will not affect your tax bill received in December 2023.
Assessment staff will be entering your lands to perform their assessment duties for the revaluation, implied consent will be given unless a written refusal is provided to the Assessor. A badge with photo ID will be worn by assessment staff while in the field.
When all assessments have been completed, a “Notice of Assessment” will be sent on July 10, 2023 to all property owners informing them of their new assessments. After the Notice of Assessment is mailed, an “Open Book” in-person conference will be held from 8:30AM to 4:00PM, July 24th through the July 28th, to give all property owners a chance to compare their information with neighboring assessments, or to discuss any differences of opinion that may exist with the assessment staff. Appointments are strongly encouraged. The “Determination” letters from the Open Book conference will be mailed on August 11th, 2023.
After the “Open Book” conference, there will be the formal “Board of Review” hearing on September 13, 2023 at 9:00AM. This Board will convene to hear oral testimony from taxpayers who feel, and can prove, their new assessment is substantially unfair, either by market value or by equity standards. The taxpayer must contact the City Clerk for an objection form to appear at the Board of Review hearings.
A market update of assessed values will be each year 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026, which 2026 being the last year for the Notice of Assessments for this revaluation project.
Timeline for upcoming exterior inspections:
- Year 2024 for Tax Districts 3 & 1 (East of 12th Street from most Southern area in City and North along the Lake to Superior Avenue)
- Year 2025 for Tax Districts 0 & 7 (North of Superior Avenue from the Lake to North 15th Street)
Please note that the exterior inspection schedule was changed from the original one that is posted on the Assessor’s page of the City of Sheboygan’s website.
Obtaining Implied Consent
Under sections 943.13 and 943.15, Wisconsin Statutes – An Assessor can obtain implied consent by notifying the property owner or occupant that assessment staff may be entering their lands at a future date to perform assessment duties unless a written refusal is provided stating Assessors are to keep off their land. Once the Assessor sends proper notification and a reasonable response period elapses, the Assessor can then conclude the property owners who do not provide written refusals have provided their implied consent.
For additional information:
- https://www.sheboyganwi.gov/departments/assessment/2022-2026-revaluation/
- https://www.sheboyganwi.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fieldwork-Schedule-2021-2025.pdf
- https://www.sheboyganwi.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Assessors-Districts-by-Year.pdf
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSrD4Fn5qJI
2022 – 2026 Reevaluation Notice
The City Assessor’s office will be performing a city-wide review of all property assessments. This involves a sales analysis and exterior inspections only of all of the properties. The sales analysis and statistical data modeling is scheduled to occur each year from 2022 to 2026. The exterior inspections will begin August of 2021 and continue each year until 2026. Refer to the Fieldwork Schedule and City Map. A letter will be mailed out to property owners prior to the assessment staff performing exterior inspections. Refer to Walk-around Pre-revaluation letter.
A complete revaluation ensures that all property assessments are uniform and fair so that all property owners are paying their fair share of property taxes. For more information, click on the Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s Guide for Property Owners.
Frequently Asked Questions for a Revaluation:
My assessment changed how will that affect my taxes?
An increase in your assessment does not necessarily mean an increase in your property taxes. Just as, a decrease in your assessment does not necessarily mean a decrease in your property taxes. The property tax rate will not be last year’s property tax rate multiplied by the new assessment.
Although the property’s assessment affects your share of taxes, the actual amount you pay is determined by the budget needs, or levy of the schools, city, county, technical college and state reforestation. All of these taxing bodies decide their budget needs based on services to be provided to the community. The tax rate is determined by dividing the total assessment of a district into the levy. The rate is often expressed in terms of dollars per thousands (also known as the mill rate). If the total levy remains the same, only those properties that are not currently paying their fair share of the tax burden will pay more taxes after the revaluation. Therefore, those properties currently paying more than their fair share will pay less.
Here is an illustration on how the levy affects your assessment: Reassessment – a tale of three cities.
Until the budget needs for all the taxing bodies are determined, the effect on your taxes cannot immediately be known. Typically the tax rate is determined by the beginning of December.
Why did my assessment change when I haven’t done anything to my home?
General economic conditions, such as interest rates, inflation, supply and demand, and changes in the tax laws, will influence the market value of the real estate. As property values change in the market place, those changes must be reflected on the Assessment Roll on an annual basis. Assessed values can go up or down even if you have made no changes to your property.
Do all assessments change at the same rate?
No. There are differences between individual properties and between neighborhoods. In one area, property sales may indicate an increase in value in a given year. In another area, there may be very little change or a decrease in property values.
Different types of properties within the same neighborhood may also show different value changes. For example, one story houses may be more in demand than two story houses, or vice versa. Older homes in the same area may be rising in value more slowly than newer homes. There are numerous factors to be considered for each property that will cause the values to differ. Some of the factors that can affect the value are location, condition, size, age, quality of construction, bedroom county, number of bathrooms, basement finish, and garages.
Why is the City conducting a revaluation?
Wisconsin Law requires municipalities to periodically revalue all property to keep pace with changes in the market. During a revaluation, all assessments are examined and adjustments are made where necessary to guarantee that all property is assessed at market value. This is done to assure that taxes are distributed equitably and uniformly.