Request for Review of Real Estate Assessment

If you feel the assessed value of your property is incorrect, you may ask the Assessor to review the assessment. In order for the Assessor to properly serve your request, please fill out the Request for Assessment Review form. After you have read the form thoroughly and completed it, please return it to the City Assessor’s Office located in City Hall at 900 Quay Street, no later than March 1st.

After the form is returned, you may be contacted to set up an appointment by our field appraiser to inspect the property. When the review is completed, you will be notified by mail of the results. Any changes to the assessed value will not affect previous taxes in any way. These changes will only effect the 2021 assessment roll. 

Residential Assessment Review Form
Commercial Assessment Review Form

Please note that this request for review is not considered a formal objection to your assessment. If, after the review, you still believe the assessment does not reflect the market value of your property, you must contact the City Clerk to file a formal written objection and arrange for a hearing before the next Board of Review (please see below).

Board of Review & Open Book Documents

The Board of Review is held annually anytime during the 30-day period beginning on the second Monday in May and is the formal appeal process. The property owner must provide the City Clerk with written "Notice of Intent" to file an objection at least 48 hours prior to the start of the Board of Review's first annual meeting. Standard forms are available from the City Clerk's office. When you receive your tax bill in December, it is too late to file an objection. Paying your taxes under protest does not constitute an assessment objection unless you have first filed an appeal with the Board of Review.

Timeline of Revaluation:

Jan - Feb: Assessor reviews previous year’s sales and market data
Jan - March: Trespass letter will be sent to properties assessors need to visit
Feb - April: Permits and sales are verified
March - April: Comparable market data used to revalue all property
May - June: Notice of new value will be mailed to property owners

2022 Board of Review Notice 

Open Book 

Open book is a conference, either face-to-face or over the phone, with an assessor to discuss the value of your property. You have until 48 hours before Board of Review to contact the assessor about your new value. When available you can set an appointment with an assessor here: https://accurate.rovingcalendar.com/appointments

Board of Review

Board of Review functions like court and is required to evaluate evidence based on facts. You or your representative must provide factual evidence that your property is inequitably assessed. The burden of proof is solely on the taxpayer. The assessor’s value is presumed correct by State Law until proven otherwise.

Search for your property record information here: http://accurateassessor.com/recordsearch/?id=140

2022 Dates to Remember

• Public Notice: April 11, 2022
• Open Book with City Assessor present: May 10, 2022 9AM - 3PM
• Board of Review Meeting: June 1, 2022

Rules and Procedures to Appear before the Board of Review

Please be advised of the following requirements to appear before the board of review and procedural requirements if appearing before the board:

1. No person will 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 of the assessor to view the property.

2. After the first meeting of the board of review and before the board's final adjournment, no person who is scheduled to appear before the board of review may contact or provide information to a member of the board about the person's objection, except at a session of the board.

3. The board of review may not hear an objection to the amount or valuation of property unless, at least 48 hours before the board's first scheduled meeting, the objector provides to the board's clerk written or oral notice of an intent to file an objection, except that upon a showing of good cause and the submission of a written objection, the board shall waive that requirement during the first 2 hours of the board's first scheduled meeting, and the board may waive that requirement up to the end of the 5th day of the session or up to the end of the final day of the session if the session is less than 5 days with proof of extraordinary circumstances for failure to meet the 48-hour notice requirement and failure to appear before the board of review during the first 2 hours of the first scheduled meeting.

4. Objections to the amount or valuation of property shall first be made in writing and filed with the clerk of the board of review within the first 2 hours of the board's first scheduled meeting, except that, upon evidence of extraordinary circumstances, the board may waive that requirement up to the end of the 5th day of the session or up to the end of the final day of the session if the session is less than 5 days. The board may require objections to the amount or valuation of property to be submitted on forms approved by the Department of Revenue, and the board shall require that any forms include stated valuations of the property in question. Persons who own land and improvements to that land may object to the aggregate valuation of that land and improvements to that land, but no person who owns land and improvements to that land may object only to the valuation of that land or only to the valuation of improvements to that land. No person may be allowed in any action or proceedings to question the amount or valuation of property unless the written objection has been filed and that person in good faith presented evidence to the board in support of the objections and made full disclosure before the board, under oath, of all of that person's property liable to assessment in the district and the value of that property. The requirement that objections be in writing may be waived by express action of the board.

5. When appearing before the board of review, the objecting 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.

6. No person may appear before the board of review, testify to the board by telephone, or object to a valuation if that valuation was made by the assessor or the objector using the income method of valuation, unless the person supplies the assessor with all the information about income and expenses, as specified in the assessor's manual under s. 73.03 (2a), Wis. stats., that the assessor requests. The City of Manitowoc has an ordinance for the confidentiality of information about income and expenses that is provided to the assessor under this paragraph that provides exceptions for persons using information in the discharge of duties imposed by law or the duties of their officer or by order of a court. The information that is provided under this paragraph, unless a court determined that it is inaccurate, is not subject to the right of inspection and copying under s. 19.35 (1), Wis. stats.

7. The board shall hear upon oath, by telephone, all ill or disabled persons who present to the board a letter from a physician, surgeon, or osteopath that confirms their illness or disability. No other persons may testify by telephone unless the Board, in it’s discretion, has determined to grant a property owner’s or their representative’s request to testify under oath by telephone or written statement.

8. No person may appear before the board of review, testify to the board by telephone, or contest the amount of any assessment unless, at least 48 hours before the first meeting of the board, or at least 48 hours before the objection is heard if the objection is allowed under s.70.47 (3) (a), Wis. stats., that person provides to the clerk of the board of review notice as to whether the person will ask for the removal of a member of the board of review and, if so, which member, and provides a reasonable estimate of the length of time the hearing will take.

Wisconsin Department of Revenue

Board of Review & Open Book Calendar Inquiry

Property Assessment Appeal Guide for Wisconsin Real Property Owners