Sticker shock in Holmen: Property assessments up 34 percent after first revaluation in seven years

Holmen’s property revaluation is now complete and residents began getting their assessment letters in the mail late last week. Village staffers have been busy fielding calls from concerned property owners ever since.

“The calls have been coming in steadily since Friday when some letters began being delivered,” said interim clerk Angela Hornberg.

Holmen property values increased by more than 30 percent since the last re-appraisal seven years ago. But, officials say, what many people don’t understand is just because homeowners’ appraised values increased, doesn’t mean their taxes will increase in direct proportion.

“The office staff is sympathetic to the residents’ concerns, but the assessment ratio and the state indicates when the time comes for a revaluation,” Hornberg said.

Village appraiser Bowmar Appraisals of Altoona has completed appraising every property in the village, increasing assessed values to bring them in line with current market values.

“I know they use current sales figures for the area, and since Holmen has lots of sales to use, they feel they have assessed very accurately,” Hornberg said.

Holmen’s tax bills are calculated based on the amounts levied by the county, state, WTC, the village and school district divided by the total of assessed values for the village.

Since the total assessed values increased significantly, that is a larger number to divide into the levy, therefore the tax rate (some call it “mill rate”) should drop accordingly, Hornberg said.

“Historically,” she said, “when a revaluation occurs the mill rate will drop.”

Multiplying the most recent assessment by last year’s tax rate would not be an accurate way to forecast one’s taxes for this year.

The state of Wisconsin determines when revaluations are necessary, and that’s usually when assessments fall out of line with current equalized valuation figures.

In Holmen, the last drive-by assessments were done in 2002 and the last in-home assessments were completed in 1997.

Since 2002, the village’s assessed property value went up 34 percent, said Sherry Coenen, manager of Bowmar Appraisal. “That did not happen over one year, it did not happen over two years, it happened over seven years.”

Bowmar’s phone lines have also been flooded, and, Coenen said, it’s because most callers don’t understand that the form sent to them uses 2008 figures from the county.

“The county itself can only give us last year’s information,” Coenen said. “The 2008 figures represent about 75 percent of the value of the current assessment.”

Coenen said Holmen’s current assessed value is now roughly the same as the equalized valuation figure released by the state earlier this fall, which actually indicated Holmen’s value had decreased by more than 1 percent over the year before.

Bowmar used sales data from 215 property transfers from 2008 and 2009 to make their appraisals. The goal was to make every appraisal as close to fair market value as possible or within the allowable 10 percent margin for error.

Sales figures older than 2008 were not used because appraisers felt that the market was different at that time.

Residents who disagree with their assessments have a procedure to follow, which is outlined in a letter that accompanied their assessment.