Pewaukee Board of Review Upholds Assessor’s Valuation for Rocky Point Home

The Pewaukee Board of Review sustained the city assessor’s 2025 valuation for a Rocky Point Road property after hearing testimony from the homeowner and a detailed valuation presentation from the assessor.

Homeowner John Labonte told the board he believed the assessor’s $5,489,300 assessment overstated his property’s value and asked the board to reduce the land and improvement valuations. Labonte said photographs and a comparison of nearby lots and remodeled homes showed his home — which he described as older and without recent costly amenities — should be assessed at a lower amount.

City Assessor Rhett Tough responded that the assessor’s office conducted a 2025 revaluation to match market conditions and that waterfront and neighborhood sales supported the assessment. Tough described using sales comparables adjusted for frontage, time and condition and explained the department’s front-foot method for valuing lakefront land. He told the board the mark-to-market revaluation reflected roughly a 32 percent average increase across the municipality.

Board members questioned both sides about specific adjustments to comparables and about whether the owner’s comparisons relied on assessed values rather than sale prices. Following deliberations the board found the assessor had presented tiered evidence consistent with the Markarian hierarchy (sale of the subject, comparable sales, then other methods) and that the homeowner had not carried the burden to overturn the assessment. A motion to accept the assessor’s valuation carried in a roll call vote.

The decision closes the Board of Review’s review of that parcel; written notice of the determination and appeal rights will be provided to the property owner.