It’s time for a property revaluation in the City of South Milwaukee, the first in 11 years — and plenty of questions, I’m sure.
Notices should be arriving this week. Mine did on Wednesday, and it showed a 46.6% increase in our home’s assessed valuation.
What does that mean? I have many of the same questions many of you do, and the city seeks to answer many of them here.
First, why?
The goal of the revaluation is to assure that taxes are distributed equitably and uniformly, as well as to comply with State Statutes.
Some other key points from the city …
The 2022 revaluation used sales that occurred between November 2020 and December 2021 to arrive at an estimated fair market value of each property as of January 1, 2022.
The average property would have been assessed 49% below market value as of January 1, 2022 without conducting a revaluation. … Note that a 49% increase does not mean a 49% increase in taxes. Typically, in this scenario where the average increase in value is 49%, property owners that receive an increase in value of 39% to 59% do not see a major change to their tax bill.
Does everybody’s tax go up because of revaluations?
No. Revaluation redistributes the existing property tax burden so that all property owners pay their fair share based on the market value of their property. If the total tax levy remains the same, only those properties which are not presently paying their fair share of the tax burden will pay more tax because of the revaluation. Property owners currently paying more than their fair share would actually pay less after the revaluation. The total amount of taxes levied is completely independent of the overall assessment.
How does the assessor value property?
Wisconsin Law requires that property assessments be based on fair market value. Estimating the market value of your property is a matter of determining the price a typical buyer would pay for it in its present condition. The assessor used 1 to 5 comparable properties that sold between November 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021 to arrive at the 2022 assessed value.
Do all assessments change at the same rate?
There are differences between individual properties and between neighborhoods. In one area for a certain type of property, the sales may indicate a substantial increase in value in a given year. In another, there may be no change in value, or even a decrease in property values.
How can I determine what impact this revaluation will have on my property taxes?
The exact amount of your property tax bill will not be known until December, based upon the tax levies established by the City, as well as the other taxing jurisdictions (South Milwaukee School District, MATC and Milwaukee County).
South Milwaukee Blog 
Thank you for helping to break this down. Without context or an explanation of the final impact, I think many people would be up in arms. TY