Assessor

The City of Tomah contracts with Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc., to provide all assessment services for real estate and personal property within the city. All real estate and personal property in the City of Tomah is assessed annually. The purpose of an assessment is to assure that all property in the city is valued fairly and equitably for taxing purposes. The assessor may request to view your property for purposes of updating the City’s property records for assessment purposes.

Assessed Value

Each municipality is required to assess property on an annual basis. The assessed value is the value that the assessor determines the property is worth for tax purposes. Both real and personal property are assessed. Real property is real estate such as homes, buildings and land. Personal property is the furniture, fixtures, and equipment that a business uses to conduct their operations. It is the assessor’s responsibility to ensure that all property within the city is valued uniformly as market trends dictate. When a property’s assessed value changes from one year to the next, the assessor sends a notice of assessment by regular mail to the owner of record.

Challenging Assessed Value

Property owners receive notice of changes in their assessed values only when the value changes (increase or decrease). Each year a property owner has an opportunity to challenge the assessed value of their property through Open Book and Board of Review. The process begins with an informal discussion with the assessor. If, after the Open Book meetings, the assessor and property owner cannot agree on an assessed value, the owner may make a formal objection before the Board of Review.

Board of Review

The Board of Review is a quasi-judicial body where the property owner and the assessor present testimony and evidence under oath to support their differing opinions of the assessed value. By Wisconsin law, the assessor is presumed correct unless the property owner can present direct evidence supporting a different assessed value. After both parties have presented their evidence, the Board of Review votes on a motion to affirm or modify the assessed value (or the Board may request additional information). After the Board of Review has heard all challenges to property assessments, their vote to adjourn certifies all assessments are final for that year. The Board of Review is the final opportunity for property assessments to be challenged each year.