Board denies Pivotal Tax phone testimony, dismisses Fleet Farm objection and schedules follow-up hearings

The West Bend City Board of Review on June 11 denied a request by an out-of-state tax representative to testify by telephone and dismissed at least one objection for failing to complete required objection-form sections.

City Attorney Ian Proust explained the board’s adopted rules for remote testimony and procedural requirements: “The rules of the board that we adopted last year, state that, essentially, the board shall hear, telephone testimony or remote conferencing, upon the request of anybody that is ill or disabled, as long as they present a letter from … a physician … or an advanced practice nurse … that confirms their illness or disability,” Proust said. He noted the representative’s stated reason — being out of state — did not meet the board’s usual remote-testimony criteria.

Board members voted to deny the Pivotal Tax Solutions requests for telephone testimony for multiple objections tied to apartment and dealership properties. The denial applied to the Pivotal Tax representative’s phone-appearance requests for Barton School Apartments, two auto-dealership parcels on West Washington Street (including a dealership land parcel) and other parcels submitted by that firm; the board’s action was recorded on the minutes as applying to “all of the Pivotal tax rep requests for phone appearance.”

The board also considered an objection filed on behalf of Fleet Farm (3815 W. Washington St., parcel 29111191620005). The city attorney and assessor’s staff noted the Fleet Farm objection form left required sections blank (including the “reason for objection/basis of estimate” and fields asking for changes to the property and appraisal history). Under the board’s rules, incomplete objection forms may be dismissed after 48 hours’ notice; the Fleet Farm representative waived that notice and the board voted to dismiss the Fleet Farm objection for failing to completely and accurately fill out the objection form.

Assessor Jeff Yoder and staff identified other filings that either lacked required income-and-expense submissions or had internal inconsistencies (for example, checking “no” for recent changes when the assessor’s records showed new construction or a recent sale). The assessor’s office requested time to complete review and said it would advise the board which objections should be scheduled for hearing, which should be dismissed and whether subpoenas for additional records would be necessary.

The board directed staff to place contested objections that may be incomplete or missing income-and-expense statements on a follow-up agenda and to provide 48-hour notice where the board intends to consider dismissals. The board set a follow-up schedule to reconvene for additional review and potential hearings; the board members discussed June 25 and June 26 dates and ultimately penciled in June 26 at 2:00 p.m. for follow-up work and hearings, with a two-week review period for staff.

Several taxpayers and representatives were present and either waived the 48-hour notice or agreed to allow the board to consider their matters at the next session. Gary Kohlenberg (tax representative for Cast Iron River Shores/Cast Iron apartments) and his client supplied voluminous sale documents and appraisals; the assessor said the submission was timely but complex and asked for more time to analyze the materials and, where appropriate, propose stipulated adjusted values to the board.

The board did not render final merits decisions on those contested valuations at this meeting; instead the board took procedural actions — denials of phone appearance, dismissal of an incomplete objection, and scheduling of hearings — and instructed staff to prepare notices, subpoenas if needed, and a short list of incomplete items to be served on objectors.