FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: City of Fitchburg
Chris.Leitz@fitchburgwi.gov
608-270-4235
City of Fitchburg 2024 Revaluation
Fitchburg, WI – May 30, 2024 – On May 17, 2024, the city Assessing department mailed the 2024 assessment notices to property owners throughout the city. This year, the Assessing department conducted a citywide revaluation, which brought all properties up to estimated current market values. On average, the city saw a 21% increase in value. Individual neighborhoods and properties may vary from that average based on individual variables.
Wisconsin law requires the city to assess property at full value at least once every five years. The city last revalued properties at full value in 2022, however, since that revaluation was done, the real estate market in Fitchburg has continued to maintain strong growth and our assessments have not kept pace. If real estate values continue to grow at the pace we have seen and we were to only revalue properties once every 5 years, you would see much more dramatic increases all at once, as compared to what we have seen here in the last two years.
Assessments are intended to be revenue neutral, meaning that an increase to your assessment does not necessarily mean that individual taxes will increase. Typically, when the overall assessed value of the city increases, the tax rate decreases. The city last conducted a market update revaluation for the 2022 tax year, which increased the overall assessed value of the city by roughly 18% from 2021 to 2022. Following the revaluation, tax rates decreased by 11-15% dependent on school district.
The city’s tax levy generally only increases by net new construction and/or a referendum. Increased assessments do not increase the city’s tax levy. Assessments do determine the tax rate and the corresponding share of the levy that each property pays. It is important to keep in mind that roughly 30-34% of your tax bill goes to the city dependent on school district. The remaining percentage is split amongst the school districts in which your property is located, Dane County, and Madison Technical College.
Important Dates and Contacts
Open Book sessions for the current assessment cycle run from May 22 to June 5, 2024, Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The Board of Review is scheduled for July 17, 2024, starting at 8:30 AM.
Property owners can contact the City of Fitchburg Assessing Department at 608-270-4235 or via email for residential properties at Chris.Leitz@fitchburgwi.gov and for commercial properties at Craig.Olson@fitchburgwi.gov.
Additional Resources
Property owners can access assessment information and other resources through the City of Fitchburg's website, Dane County's Access Dane portal, and various state government publications. https://www.fitchburgwi.gov/133/Assessing