The WI Department of Revenue has received inquiries concerning Board of Review law for 2000. These questions cover portions of Sections 70.45, 70.46, and 70.47, Wis. Stats. They have compiled the questions and their answers and have listed them below.
These questions cover some of the less obvious points of the Board of Review law. In addition to these questions and answers, other references available are the WI state statutes, municipal attorneys, the various Guides published by the WI Department of Revenue, the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual, and your municipal associations (Wisconsin Towns Association, League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and Alliance of Cities). Please contact the appropriate District Supervisor of Equalization if you need additional information.
Filing Objections/Forms
Assuming the property owner gave 48-hour notice of intent to object, a written objection is considered filed if it is received in the clerk's office within the first 2 hours of the first Board of Review meeting. The law is silent as to whether filing by fax or e-mail constitutes a "written" objection. Municipalities should adopt a consistent position concerning electronic filing.
If the property owner did not give 48-hour notice of intent to object, an
appearance during the first 2 hours of the Board of Review meeting would be
mandatory in order to request a waiver of the notice of intent to file
requirement.
No. The notice must be given to the clerk of the Board of Review, and may be either written or oral. Written notice should be encouraged. We would recommend that the clerk's office maintain a log of the telephone calls it receives which are notices of intention to file objections. Municipalities could encourage property owners to complete the official objection form 48 hours prior to the first meeting, which would also serve as notice of intent.
Scheduling Objections
After the initial meeting, unless the property owner has been provided
and then signed the appropriate waiver, the Board of Review would need to
adjourn and reconvene 15 or more days later to give the property owner an
opportunity to object to the assessment as revised at open book. By doing so
the assessor has met the notice requirements under sec. 70.365, Wis. Stats.
Effective beginning in 2008, the law further provides that if the assessor
changes the assessment as a result of an open book examination "and the
person assessed waives, in writing and on a form prescribed or approved by
the department of revenue, the person's right to the 15-day notice of the
changed assessment, no additional notice is required under this section."
Under this scenario, the assessor would not be required to give an
additional 15-day notice and the Board of Review would not be required to be
kept open longer than otherwise needed.
Yes. Sec 70.47 (7)(ad). Wis. Stats., states "...and the person's
reasonable estimate of the length of time that the hearing will take."
The law does not specify the type of notice, but does require that it be
given at least 48 hours prior to hearing the objection. We recommend that
the Board provide notice by first class mail, and do an affidavit of
mailing. We recommend mailing the notice at least 5 days prior to the
hearing, which would allow for the 48-hour notice plus another 3 days for
mail delivery.
It does not. Holding multiple district open books at the same time would
require that a municipality's assessment records be removed from the
municipality, and require property owners to travel to another municipality
for their open book.
Yes. The assessor must be present at the meeting held during the first 30
days following the second Monday of May. If the assessment roll is not
complete, the assessor must attend to inform the Board as to when the roll
will be completed.
Written notice of determination is mandatory and must be served by
personal delivery or by certified mail return receipt requested. The
state-prescribed form PR-302 includes the amount of the assessment as
finalized by the Board of Review, as well as the required explanation of
appeal rights.
The law specifies the notices will be delivered or mailed prior to final adjournment of the Board of Review. While it is cumbersome to adjourn the board and reconvene after the notices have been mailed, that is the required procedure.
It would be theoretically possible for the clerk to, before adjournment, at a time when the post office is closed, mail the notices in a U.S. Post Office mailbox, execute the affidavit, and return to the BOR for adjournment. By doing so, it would be possible to get a return receipt, but it would not be possible to obtain proof of mailing in the form of a U.S. Postal Service Receipt for Certified Mail, PS Form 3800. It would be preferable for the clerk to obtain proof of certified mailing in the form of the U.S. Postal Service Receipt for Certified Mail which is only available when the Post Office is open. Whether or not an article of certified mail is actually delivered, the return receipt cards are often not returned to the sender. If the clerk has not obtained proof of mailing (available only when the Post Office is open) and if the return receipt card is not returned, the Board will have no proof of complying with sec. 70.47(12), Wis. Stats.
Hearings/Proceedings
No. There is no requirement that the person receiving the required board
of review training be the chair of the Board of Review.
As few as 2 members may hold a hearing of the evidence if the
requirements of sec. 70.47(9), Wis. Stats., are met. However, if one or more
members are removed, then 3 or more board of review members must hear the
objection in order to issue a determination.
If the assessor agrees with the property owner at open book, the value
should be changed at that time before the assessor's affidavit is signed.
Once the affidavit is signed, the assessor is compelled to defend the value
in the roll unless an obvious palpable error has been made. In all cases the
Board of Review must decide based on the evidence presented to it.
There would be no impact on the Board of Review in its attempt to obtain
information needed to make a decision. The assessor can request income and
expense information from the property owner without an ordinance; however, a
confidentiality ordinance would help the assessor obtain the information.
Yes, all proceedings of the Board of Review must be recorded in the
clerk's minute book, and either by a stenographer or by a recording device.
This includes both the evidentiary hearing and the deliberative sessions.
The board of review should not hear the property owner's case and should
not issue a board of review determination notice. The board should conduct a
prehearing and establish that entry was not permitted therefore under sec.
70.47(7)(aa), Wis. Stats., the person is not allowed to appear before the
board of review.
Before swearing in the property owner the clerk should ask the property owner to submit a completed form with this question answered. If the property owner still refuses to properly complete the question, the board should conduct a pre-hearing and determine the board of review will not hear the case. Per Sec 70.47(7) WI Stats, the written objection is required and states that: “…the board shall require that any forms include stated valuations of the property in question.” A board of review determination notice should not be issued.
Yes. Only one member can be removed under sec. 70.47(6m)(a)1, Wis Stats.,
where no cause is identified if a timely request for removal is given in
accordance with the provisions spelled out in sec. 70.47(6m)(a)1, Wis.
Stats. (this procedure is not available in 1st and 2nd class cities). In
addition, member(s) can be removed for bias under sec. 70.47(6m)(a)3, Wis.
Stats.
Yes, for bias if the property owner follows the procedures as defined in
sec. 70.47(6m)(a)3, Wis. Stats.
The municipality should provide for alternate members by ordinance prior
to the Board of Review meeting so alternates would be available for all the
meetings.
There is no impact as long as a quorum of the Board of Review decides the
case. The requirement is that the Board of Review as a body includes a
trained member, but it is not necessary to have a trained member hear a
specific objection if the trained member is removed. The trained member can
remain in the room and is allowed to offer procedural advice to the board of
review.
The assessor may request removal of a Board of Review member under sec. 70.47(6m)(a)3, Wis. Stats., for bias. Only the property owner may request removal for no stated reason under sec. 70.47(6m)(a)1, Wis. Stats.
Written notice of determination is mandatory and must be served by
personal delivery or by certified mail return receipt requested. The
state-prescribed form PR-302 includes the amount of the assessment as
finalized by the Board of Review, as well as the required explanation of
appeal rights.
The roll call votes must be recorded both in the clerk's minute book, and either by a stenographer or by a recording device.
Information has been provided by the Wisconsin Department of Revnue website as of 5/21/10.