County opposes taking on tax assessments

The Shawano County Board showed unanimous support Wednesday for a resolution opposing the part of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget that would require counties, instead of municipalities, to handle property tax assessments. Walker’s biennial budget proposal would require the county to start the process next year and have it fully implemented in 2017. County officials estimate the unfunded mandate could cost the county as much as $1 million annually for additional staff and work with assessors. The shift in assessment duties is expected to save the state $300,000 by eliminating five positions, as state employees would only have to deal with 72 counties instead of more than 1,700 cities, towns and villages, according to Supervisor Arlyn Tober. “For the state to save $300,000, we’re supposed to pick up the rest of that,” Tober said. The county would have the option of seeking reimbursement from the 38 municipalities within its boundaries, but the reimbursement cannot exceed 95 percent of what they paid this year for assessment services. Supervisor John Ainsworth noted very few municipalities have assessors on staff; the work is usually contracted out. “Very seldom does a township have a local resident assessor,” Ainsworth said. “We used to have an assessor that came out and looked at the property. Now it’s all done electronically. I haven’t seen an assessor in years.” County Board Chairman Jerry Erdmann said there were too many unanswered questions, and the county could not afford to absorb the costs without knowing all the logistics. “These municipalities that have contracted with an assessor, now that the state wants the county to do the assessing, what’s going to happen to those contracts?” Erdmann said. “There are too many ifs here, and it’s not good.” Supervisor Gene Hoppe, who attended a meeting of the Wisconsin Counties Association regarding the proposal earlier this month, said all of the counties have submitted resolutions to Walker and the state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voicing their opposition. The WCA and Wisconsin League of Municipalities also oppose the plan. “We’re not the only people who think this is wrong,” Hoppe said. “The whole state is thinking that.” The county’s finance and administrative committees supported the local resolution.