City Assessor Sarah Tyrell briefed the Common Council on the citywide property revaluation process the assessor's office is conducting to align assessed values with current market conditions and to comply with Department of Revenue oversight.

Tyrell said Wisconsin municipalities must periodically revalue properties under Chapter 70 of the Wisconsin Statutes and related Department of Revenue procedures. She told the council the Department of Revenue notified Wauwatosa in 2021 that the city’s assessments were out of alignment with market sales and that a revaluation must be done by 2026 or the state could assign a private firm and charge the city for the work.

Tyrell summarized that the assessor’s office reviewed three years of arm’s-length sales, rental and construction-cost information and has developed updated valuations as of the statutory assessment date of Jan. 1. The office plans to mail postcards to all property owners the week of July 7; assessment notices showing new values are expected to be mailed July 18. The open-book period, during which property owners may review and inquire about their new assessments, runs from Friday, July 18 through Friday, Aug. 15. Extended office hours and an online inquiry system will be available; staff aim to respond within two to three business days though they cautioned the assessor’s office is small relative to the 16,000 parcels it serves.

Tyrell described the board of review process that follows open book: a taxpayer who still contests an assessment files an objection with the city clerk and the board of review (a panel of local taxpayers) schedules a hearing; the board's decision is based on sworn testimony and evidence presented at the hearing. She emphasized that assessment changes do not directly translate into equivalent tax-bill changes because tax bills depend on the budgets and levies of multiple taxing jurisdictions (city, county, school district, technical college and the sewage district), and the council’s communications team is preparing a tax-illustration tool to help property owners understand potential impacts.

Tyrell asked alderpersons to refer constituent assessment questions to the assessor’s office and to the city’s revaluation webpage (wauwatosa.net/reval) rather than offering specific advice on individual assessments. She also said the assessor’s office will provide outreach materials, frequently asked questions and online tools during the open-book period.

The council thanked Tyrell for the presentation and for the outreach work; members asked about likely shifts among property classes and how tax shifts interact with TIF districts and county equalized values, and staff answered that preliminary analysis showed similar average increases for residential and commercial classes in Wauwatosa but that shifts within classes (for example, apartment buildings versus office buildings) are likely.