Assessments:
The dates and times for Assessor Open Book and Board of Review will be posted on the homepage of this website when officially set. Normally held in April, the Assessor Open Book provides landowners the opportunity to ask questions and get answers from the assessor concerning the assessed value of their property. Board of Review is usually held in May of each year to resolve assessment challenges from landowners. Any challenge needs to begin at the Open Book and proceed from there.
Misconceptions and questions abound concerning property assessments and taxes. The following is a list of the most frequently asked questions.
·
What is a mil rate and how is it determined? A
mil rate is basically the dollar amount of tax per $1000 of assessed value.
When all levies have been set by the state, county, township, schools,
and vocational districts, a mil rate is computed for each by dividing the amount
levied by the total assessed value. Residents
of York have one of three mil rates, depending on which school district they
reside in. The
mil rate seen on the tax bill is the state mil rate plus the county mil
rate minus the county sales tax mil rate plus the township mil rate minus the
school tax credit mil rate plus the mil rates for the school district and
vocational district in which the taxpayer owns land.
·
Why is it that others who have more property are paying less taxes than
I am? Comparing
tax amounts can be very misleading. There
are three school districts in York, each with a different mil rate. Another fact to consider is that due to the different
classifications of land, taxes on land can vary greatly.
For example, Managed Forest land has a flat tax rate of as little as 74
cents per acre. That same land
assessed as recreational land would be taxed as much as $40 per acre.
For the past several years, Use Value Assessment has steadily lowered the
assessed value of all agricultural lands. This
has shifted a larger and larger portion of property taxes over to other land
classes such as residential and recreational.
The opposite was true just 20 or so years ago, when the majority of
property taxes came from farmland. (Look
back at the 1983 Tax Roll)
·
What is this Use Value Assessment?
Use
Value Assessment was mandated by the State to prevent agricultural land from
being assessed at higher levels based on its use potential.
The Dept. of Revenue informs the local assessor each year what the
maximum assessed value can be for ag land.
Even land surveyed and plotted into lots for development stay at this
lower assessed value if the use remains agricultural.
·
With the addition of so many new houses to the tax base, why aren’t
property taxes going down? Each
year, when the assessor reports the total assessed values to the Dept. of
Revenue, the state compares assessed values of random properties in York with
the average selling price of similar properties that have recently sold.
A ratio is then calculated showing the assessment as a percentage of fair
market value. For example, if a
house in York is assessed at $150000 and three similar houses in the area
recently sold for $200000, the ratio would be 75%. This ratio is then used to determine the equalized assessed
value for York Township. The Dept.
of Revenue computes an equalized value for each township, village, and city in
the state. This value is used when
schools, vocational schools, state, and county determine what portion of their
tax levy York residents will pay. As
the equalized value of the Town of York increases faster than that of
surrounding towns and villages, a larger and larger share of these tax levies
shifts to York. The larger tax base
just means that York will pay a larger percentage of the state tax levy, county
tax levy, and school levies.
·
What does the Township do with all that tax money? Only about 12% or so of the total tax roll is Town tax.
The majority of tax money gets paid out to the county, school districts,
and vocational districts. At tax
time, townships are little more that collection agencies.
The Township Budget shows in detail where local tax money is spent.
(Go to the town budget now)
·
If my assessment goes down, won’t my taxes go down too? If one individual landowner’s assessment decreases while
others go unchanged, that one person would pay less tax. If all assessed values in the township decrease, the mil rate
would increase and taxes would not change.
The bottom line is that a certain number of tax dollars each year must
come from York Township.
·
Can’t the Town Board do something to lower taxes?
The only portion of the total tax roll that the Town Board has any
control over is the town levy. School
boards and county boards determine their own budgets and how much taxes will be
levied each year. The Town of York
has 42 miles of town roads to maintain. Paving
and sealcoating must be ongoing, equipment must be updated, and employees must
be compensated. The Town of York
must provide fire protection and ambulance service as well as garbage\recycling
services. As the population of York
increases, it is likely that the costs for these services will also increase
rather than decrease.
·
Why is my assessed value different than the appraisal I just had done?
Financial institutions and mortgage companies use an appraisal when
determining loan values. The State
of Wisconsin Assessment Handbook does not recognize an appraisal as basis for an
assessment nor does it accept an appraisal as a basis for an assessment appeal.
Appraisals and assessments are each based on totally different rules of
calculation. Assessed values are subject to multipliers set by the Dept.
of Revenue to insure statewide uniformity.