Village of Jackson Board of Review elects officers, accepts assessor correction and schedules recess

The Village of Jackson Board of Review convened at 3:02 p.m. June 5 at the Jackson Municipal Complex and elected President Brian Heckendorf as chair and John Shanick as vice chair, approved minutes from the July 8, 2024 meeting and accepted a correction to the 2025 assessment roll.

The meeting focused on administrative responsibilities and routine assessment matters that affect property owners' tax bills. Ray Kozak, the assessor from Catalyst, presented the assessment figures and described an omitted residential improvement that will be added to the 2025 roll.

Kozak said, "The 2024 assessment ratio for the village was 98%." He told the board that new assessment ratios are released in August and added, "I would estimate that the new assessment ratio would be 92%." He reported total net new construction for the past year of $52,820,800 and said 293 notices of assessment change were mailed on April 21, 2025. Kozak said an open book session was held on May 12 and produced nine contacts.

The board accepted a single correction to the assessment roll, an adjustment of $25,100 related to a newly assessed property. The adjustment was presented as an amendment to the roll and the board approved a motion to accept the change by voice vote.

Kozak also reported one residential structure that had been omitted from the 2024 roll because of a permitting issue; the assessor said the improvement will be picked up on the 2025 roll and that back taxes for the omitted period were discussed with the property owner. The board referenced Wisconsin Statute 70.44 when discussing omitted property and accepted the assessor's submission of the omitted improvement affidavit to the village clerk.

Administrative compliance items on the agenda included verification that at least one board member completed mandatory training and confirmation that the village has a confidentiality ordinance for income and expense information provided to the assessor under state law. A board member said they completed Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association training on May 1, 2025, and that the training was reported to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue on May 28. The village clerk confirmed, "We do have an ordinance on file. Section 40-20 of the Village of Jackson Code of Ordinances fulfills that." The board noted there were no new laws to review.

The clerk confirmed receipt of the 2025 assessment roll and the signed affidavit from the assessor. Board members reviewed the roll for description or calculation errors, omitted property and double assessments; aside from the single specified correction and the omitted improvement, no additional changes were identified at the meeting. The board confirmed that open-book changes are included in the 2025 assessment roll.

With no taxpayers present to examine assessment data in person, the board moved to recess until 5 p.m.; the motion carried by voice vote.

Votes at a glance: the board approved the appointment of President Brian Heckendorf as chair (voice vote, motion carried); approved appointment of John Shanick as vice chair (voice vote, motion carried); approved minutes from July 8, 2024 (voice vote, motion carried); accepted one correction to the assessment roll (adjustment $25,100; voice vote, motion carried); recessed the meeting until 5 p.m. (voice vote, motion carried).

The meeting record notes the assessor will file the omitted-improvement entry per Wisconsin Statute 70.44 and that new assessment ratios will be released in August. The board did not take additional substantive policy actions and scheduled consideration of any additional questions about the roll for after the recess.