Dec. 26—SUPERIOR — A citywide property revaluation in Superior, coupled with a school tax increase, left some taxpayers feeling less festive this holiday season.
On average, city property values increased by 60%; homes increased by 70%.
Taxes on some properties rose sharply, while others, which were valued closer to their market value before the citywide revaluation, fell. The greater the percentage increase in assessed value, the more taxes increased.
“The impact on the tax bill was unique to each property,” Mayor Jim Paine said.
The purpose of reassessing property values is to reflect the price for which a property would likely sell on the real estate market and to fairly and equitably distribute the tax burden among the taxable properties in the municipality.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, revaluations are required when assessments are no longer within 10% of full value once every five years. Between 2005 and 2020, the average rating ratio at Superior fluctuated between 90% and 100%, but dropped to 82% in 2021 and fell further to 63% before this year’s revaluation.
Not only were city residents faced with new assessments based on fair market value, but they also faced a new reality when it came to taxes.
While the city tax levy fell by about $22,000 and Douglas County’s levy increased by only about $72,000, taxes supporting the Superior School District increased by $3.6 million.
Paine said it’s quite normal to see property taxes increase by tens of thousands, but not by millions.
Voters allowed the school district to increase its operating tax levy by $2.5 million. Other county taxes, which are determined by state formulas, also rose. At the same time, the state cut equalization aid by about $2.7 million and shifted that funding burden to local taxpayers.
“Superior School District saw a decrease in funding … as the district’s membership (enrollment) declined nearly 6% in the 2024-2025 school year, trending downward with the exception of the 2022-2023 school year. ” wrote Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Cameron, in a letter to district officials about the equalization aid. He noted that Superior receives a higher percentage of aid than school districts in Maple, Webster, Northwood, Solon Springs, South Shore, Drummond and Hayward.
Equalization aid is linked to both the number of registrations and the value of properties,
according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
.
The effect of the
operational referendum
approved by voters in November is listed at the bottom of the tax bill, above the payment stubs. That area contains information about voter-approved temporary tax increases. The referendum ending in 2029 is the operational referendum that was adopted in November. The one ending in 2037 is for the Superior High School and Cooper Elementary construction projects approved by voters in 2016.
If the operating referendum amount is higher than the $4 per $100,000 of property value that the school district advertised, David See, the district’s director of business services, said it is because the city’s revaluation did more to increase the value of that property increase compared to the rest of the real estate in the region. the district. Conversely, he said, there are properties paying significantly less than $4 per $100,000.
The rising cost of housing in Superior l
as a result of the city-wide revaluation
.
“State law requires that our assessments remain close to fair market value. If they stray too far for too long, we must conduct a citywide reappraisal,” Paine said. He said as long as there are no more huge market swings, the city will be fine for now.
“I would also like to point out that if house prices were to suddenly drop… we would do this again, but with the opposite effect,” Paine said.
The city assessor’s office and Associated Appraisal Consultants conducted the 2024 revaluation assessment, which determines what portion of city, county and school budgets people pay to the county treasurer for their 2025 tax collections, according to city assessor Terry Johnson.
Assessments completed in 2024 were based on sales that occurred in 2023 and earlier.
“We need to be rated at 90 to 110% for compliance by the Treasury. Because it’s not an exact calculation, anything within that range is acceptable,” Johnson said.
The Douglas County treasurer takes the budgets as calculated based on the city, county and school districts and apportions taxes based on each taxpaying unit in that jurisdiction, Johnson said. The province is divided by all cities and towns. Each school district is divided among the towns, cities, and villages within its boundaries. The technical college is being tackled in the same way, but spread over a larger area.
Open Book notices were sent out in August for the city’s Board of Review, which was held in October. Johnson said about 300 — less than 3% of all taxable property owners — had contacted the city assessor’s office or Associated Appraisal Consultants for an assessment.
“Now that the 2024 tax base for the city has been set by the Board of Review on October 2, there can be no further changes to anyone’s assessment this year,” Johnson said. “The public can certainly look forward to the public announcement next year when we have the Board of Review sometime in May or June 2025.”
The city does not send out notices in a normal year unless additional changes have been made to a property’s assessment or classification.
“If anyone wants to discuss its value, they can call us later in April or May 2025,” Johnson said.
Ownership details can be viewed online at
www.superiorwi.gov/65/Assessor
. Information about property records can be found lower on the page with the link to
assessordata.org
. Enter the address or parcel number to see an ownership record.
Superior Councilwoman Jenny Van Sickle, who represents the 2nd District, said she has spoken with concerned constituents to review their tax bills line by line. She encouraged everyone to look at the details and ask questions.
“I encourage everyone to contact their elected officials,” Van Sickle said.
City residents can email questions and documents to
Taxnote@superiorwi.gov
which goes directly to the mayor and city inspector.
“Right now, people need to make sure they get a lottery credit on your tax bill if they are owner occupied,” Johnson said. “The other thing you can do is file your Wisconsin income tax for the lottery credit. This is based on your income and it looks at what you pay in property taxes.”
Tax bills – or at least the first installment – are due on January 31; The second installments must be paid no later than July 31. When reached by phone for comment, Douglas County Treasurer Amy Tyson declined to outline tax payment options. She said they follow state statute.
According to the province’s website, taxpayers who do not pay the full first installment by January 31 will accrue 1% interest monthly on the unpaid balance. Paine encouraged residents to call the treasurer’s office at 715-395-1348 to find out what options are available.
