Manitowoc County’s executive is giving his take on rising property tax bills.
Bob Ziegelbauer stated on WOMT’s Be My Guest program yesterday (December 22nd) that the county raised its tax levy 2.8%, but a lot of municipalities also got reassessed this year, including Manitowoc and Two Rivers.
He said while property values fluctuate, the county’s taxes were still around what they predicted. Ziegelbauer says municipalities should have talked about it more when explaining expected increases.
He says the process for assessments is different now, with cities not being able to control much.
“In the past, in the 70s and 80s, we had local assessors, and they were more accountable,” he noted. “Now the municipal assessment process is a big deal, and they have big companies to do that for an area in northeastern Wisconsin, and they aren’t very much accountable.”
He specifically talked about Manitowoc’s average property value increase was 23%, meaning if your property’s value was lower, the costs won’t be as bad.
But if a home is estimated higher, that person’s property taxes are probably going up.
Manitowoc residents were reassessed for the last two years, while Two Rivers had their first reassessment in twenty years.
Real estate tax bills are due on January 31st for county residents.
