Board of Review
Open Book is the time each spring when that year's assessed values are printed and available for your review. Open Book is the best opportunity for you, as a taxpaying property owner, to review the assessment of your property.
As a property owner you can compare the assessment of your property against similar properties (information also available via Access Dane, or Assessor Data). This research provides the evidence needed to justify a proposed change in property valuation. Assessors look at comparable sales to determine the value of a property, so any objections to property value presented should show sales or assessments of comparable homes that substantiate a change.
If the decision is to proceed with an appeal based on a perceived inequity in property valuation, a change in valuation request is made directly to Paul Musser using the information gathered during the research phase. Paul can be contacted in advance of Open Book to provide documentation and discuss the assessment. Another option is to contact the Town Hall to make an appointment with Paul. Please realize that Paul cannot do anything about property taxes that were already billed. His role is to create an accurate assessment of Town properties for the upcoming tax year.
Paul Musser • Musser Appraisal Service
PO Box 252 • Waterloo, WI 53594
(608) 712-0236
musser.appraisal@gmail.com
For those not satisfied with the outcome of the Open Book review, an appeal may be escalated to the Board of Review, comprised of the Town Board. The property owner registers their appeal by informing the Town Clerk, of their intent to make an appeal at the Board of Review. By State Statutes, this notification must be received at the Town 48 hours in advance of the Board of Review Meeting.
The initial Board of Review meeting for 2019 was May 20th. Paper work submitted to the Town Clerk is distributed to the Board of Review the night of the initial meeting with appeals to be heard at a later date. Town staff will schedule the hearings for evenings after the initial meeting of the Board of Review.
Open Book and Board of Review meetings are held in the spring of each year.