Hmmm, mine went up for the first time since 2009 when we bought the house, they actually assessed ours lower than what we purchased it at for a while.
The notices of changes in property assessments for 2014 are being mailed today to property owners. Assessment notices will be mailed only when assessments have been changed from the 2013 value. Of the 73,786 parcels in the City, 58% are being changed (37,735 increases and 5,032 decreases). The 2014 property assessments are now available at http://www.cityofmadison.com/
Property owners may inspect the 2014 preliminary assessment roll at the Office of the City Assessor on business days between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. from Monday, April 21 through Friday, May 9. This “Open Book” inspection period is set aside to correct obvious clerical errors, which were made in compiling the assessment roll.
Property owners who wish to compare assessments may use the assessment reports located in the lobby of the Office of the City Assessor. Information is listed in address order and shows ownership, lot size, building data, assessment and tax information. The assessment roll may be viewed on a CD at the Central Library. Assessment/tax data is also posted on the City of Madison Assessor’s website. The information that is available includes owner’s name and address, address of the property, legal description, sales information, as well as details about physical characteristics. In addition, sales by assessment area are available on the web page.
Owners who disagree with their assessment should personally discuss it with the appraiser who set the value. If an error was made or if you have evidence that the assessment does not reflect the actual fair market value of your property, we would welcome the opportunity to review all pertinent facts. The best evidence of value is the recent sale price of your property or the sale prices of properties comparable to yours.
After talking with the Assessor’s Office, owners who still feel that the assessed value of their property is incorrect may file a formal objection. The Assessor’s Office must be notified, either orally or in writing, of intent to object at least 48 hours before the first meeting of the Board of Review. The Board’s first scheduled meeting is Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. Owners must notify the Assessor’s Office of their intent to object no later than 1:30 p.m., Monday, May 12, 2014. In addition, an objection form obtained from the Assessor’s Office must be completed and filed with the City Assessor’s Office prior to or within the first two hours of the first meeting of the Board of Review.
The Board of Assessors will review all properly filed objections and make any necessary corrections or changes. The Board will inform owners of its decisions by mail.
Owners who disagree with these decisions may proceed to a formal hearing before the Board of Review. Similar to a court, the Board has the responsibility for resolving differences of opinion of valuation. Its function is to decide if the assessment is correct based upon oral testimony and evidence presented by the property owner and the Assessor’s staff. After hearing the evidence, the Board may decide to lower, raise or sustain the assessment. Board of Review decisions may be appealed to the Circuit Court of Dane County.
