TOWN OF MANITOWOC
A GREAT TOWN ON A GREAT LAKE
Boards of Review operate like a Court of Law! Their function is not one of valuation, but of making a decision on the validity of the facts and evidence presented and those documents that can prove an error in assessment.
The board of review shall meet annually at any time during the 30-day period beginning on the 2nd Monday of May. The board shall meet at the Town Hall, 1822 Silver Creek Road, Manitowoc. It shall be posted at least 15 days before the first session.
All meetings of the Board of Review shall be publicly held and open to all citizens at all times.
At its first meeting, the board of review shall receive the assessment roll and sworn statements.
Shall be in session at least 2 hours for taxpayers to appear and examine the assessment roll and other assessment data.
Shall schedule for hearing each written objection that it receives during the first 2 hours of the meeting or that it received prior to the first meeting.
Shall grant a waiver of the 48-hour notice of an intent to file a written or oral objection if a property owner who does not meet the notice requirement appears before the board during the first 2 hours of the meeting, shows good cause for failure to meet the 48-hour notice requirement and files a written objection.
The assessor shall be present at the first meeting of the board of review.
No person shall be allowed to appear before the board of review, to testify to the board by telephone or to contest the amount of any assessment of real or personal property if the person has refused a reasonable written request by certified mail or the assessor to view such property.
When appearing before the board the person shall specify, in writing the person’s estimate of the value of the land and of the improvements that are the subject of the person’s objection and specify the information that the person used to arrive at that estimate. The form must be completed for every question, leaving none blank. If the item does not apply, mark it not applicable or N/A.
The board shall hear upon oath all persons who appear before it in relation to the assessment.
The assessor shall provide to the board specific information about the validity of the valuation to which objection is made and shall provide to the board the information that the assessor use to determine that valuation.
The lack of proving beyond a doubt that the assessment is incorrect, the Board in accordance with Wisconsin Law, must presume the Assessor is correct.
See under forms and permits: Objection form for real Property Assessment