Village Board

Village of Withee Phone: 715-229-4319 Fax: 715-229-4451 511 Division * P.O. Box A * Withee, Wisconsin 54498 The Withee Village Board met on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at 5 p.m. in the Municipal Building, Conference Room for the Board of Review (BOR). Everett Lindgren called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. Roll call was answered by Everett Lindgren, Randy Shelton, Gary Gehrke, John Frankewicz, Susan Kalepp, and Clerk Niemi. Clerk Niemi recorded the meeting. Also, in attendance was Mike Kochaver of Bowmar Appraisal, Inc. Clerk Niemi confirmed that all the appropriate notices were made for the Board of Review. The notice was placed on the Village website, published in the Enterprise Sentinel and Rural News, and posted at the Village Municipal Building, Forward Bank, and Withee Post Office. Nominations were opened for a chairperson. A Kalepp/Frankewicz motion to nominate Shelton as chairperson carried, all ayes. Nominations were opened for a vice-chairperson. A Frankewicz/Kalepp motion to nominate Gehrke as vice chairperson carried, all ayes. Clerk Niemi verified that she received the mandatory 2023 board of review training and filed the affidavit with the Department of Revenue. The assessor presented the board with the assessor report for 2023. Thirty-seven parcels were reviewed with 18 permits. Personal property had 35 accounts. There were 30 total sales. Valid improved sales were 13 and valid vacant sales were three. The estimated level of assessment ratio will be around 68% indicating that the Department of Revenue (DOR) increased the property values 10% from last year. The municipality is still out of compliance since 2019 and received a non-compliance notice from the DOR this year. The Village is scheduled to complete a revaluation by the end of 2024. Kochaver reported that the Village picked up $358,700 in net new construction. Kochaver also reviewed the revalue process. Commercial properties would be revalued in the fall of 2023. Then they will move onto the residential properties where they do an external evaluation. This involves knocking on each property owner’s door and talking to them about their property to update the assessor’s records. They plan to be done with the fieldwork by the middle of June and will finalize their figures after the DOR releases their figures. The BOR will meet in August/September with notices mailed in late August. With the assessment being so low, values will be 40-50% increased. However, that does not mean the taxes will go up. Usually, one third of the properties increase, one third decrease, and one third stays the same. The BOR reviewed some frequently asked questions about the revalue to prepare for next year. The Board of Review received the assessment roll and the sworn statement from the clerk. The assessment roll was reviewed for errors and omitted property; none were found. Assessor Kochaver recommended the BOR move to make a classification change on five parcels. The parcels were originally one 2.93-acre parcel used for agricultural use but sat fallow in 2022. In 2023 the parcels will be converted to residential. Clerk Niemi recused herself from the following five motions of classification change. A Frankewicz/Gehrke motion for parcel 191.0174.000 of 1.04 acres on Division Street to be changed from a $200 value classified as Agricultural to a $5,200 value classified as Undeveloped carried, all ayes. A Gehrke/Kalepp motion for parcel 191.0174.002 of .57 acres on Division Street to be changed from a $100 value classified as Agricultural to a $2,900 value classified as Undeveloped carried, all ayes. A Shelton/Kalepp motion for parcel 191.0174.003 of .44 acres on Division Street to be changed from a $100 value classified as Agricultural to a $2,200 value classified as Undeveloped carried, all ayes. A Kalepp/Frankewicz motion for parcel 191.0174.004 of .44 acres on Division Street to be changed from a $200 value classified as Agricultural to a $2,200 value classified as Undeveloped carried, all ayes. A Gehrke/Frankewicz motion for parcel 191.0174.005 of .44 acres on Division Street to be changed from a $100 value classified as Agricultural to a $2,200 value classified as Undeveloped carried, all ayes. Clerk Niemi stated there was nothing to report for the clerk report since there were no objections filed. Clerk Niemi did not have to swear in the Assessor for testimony, as there were no objectors. There were no objections to review. There were no objectors present to hear testimony. There were no objectors present; therefore, the clerk did not have to report on notification of the decisions. A Kalepp/Shelton motion to adjourn the Board of Review at 7 p.m. carried, all ayes. Ellen Niemi, Village Clerk