MONROE - Gov. Scott Walker publicized a $100 cut in property taxes for the average homeowner during his Property Tax Relief Tour across the state last week. That property tax cut comes from the governor and state Legislature infusing the state's 16 technical colleges with more than $400 million and setting a limit on the amount of taxes they can levy this year. But Green County property owners have already received their tax bills, and about one-third of the county has an increase - not a decrease.
In Green County, total tax rates increased by as much as 17.6 percent for the Town of Brooklyn in the Evansville School District to as little as 1.03 percent in the Village of Monticello/Monticello School. Decreases range from as much as 21.70 percent in the Town of Sylvester/Brodhead School to as little as 0.39 percent in the Town of Sylvester/Monroe School.
There are many reasons why property owners see changes in their tax bills.
All Green County property owners will see on their tax bills that Blackhawk Technical College's tax rate did decrease this year, by more than 40 percent, according to Green County Treasurer Sherri Hawkins.
Gov. Walker's proclaimed $100 tax cut is based on a $150,000 home in Wausau within Northcentral Technical College district. But in the Blackhawk Technical College district, a Green County home assessed at $97,400 will get $75 cut from the college's tax levied last year. A $100,000 home will be taxed $114 this year, down from $191 last year.
Taxpayers will see other changes on their bills as well.
Property tax bills in Wisconsin are a composite of taxes levied by many taxing entities in which the property is located - the state, county, city, school district and technical college. Part of the City of Monroe taxes includes an additional, BID tax that is imposed within the business improvement district in downtown. Some municipalities have a sanitary district or a lake district.
The "% Tax Change" printed on the tax bills is not the tax rates; rather, it shows how much an individual property is being charged by each entity compared to last year, with a negative percentage meaning it is less. Tax rates can be found by dividing the net tax amount by the assessed value of the property.
Hawkins also reminds people, tax amounts change when property assessments change or a local school district implements an additional tax by referendum.
In Green County, township boundaries often overlap more than one school district and vice versa. This can create differences in neighbors' tax bills even when their property values are exactly the same.
Each year, Hawkins fills out Green County's tax mill rate worksheet, which combines the tax rate of each municipality or section of municipality with its corresponding school district tax rate, and adds in the tax rates of the state, county, college and any additional taxes. There are 56 different tax rates throughout the county.
According to Hawkins' worksheets, 38 of those tax rates, about two-thirds, have decreased for 2014 compared to 2013, while 18 rates, or one-third, have increased.
The combined 2014 tax rates range from $27.10 per $1,000 of property value for the City of Monroe in the Monroe School District down to $16.03 for the Town of Sylvester in the Brodhead School District.
Increases in state, county, municipal or school taxes, combined, may be more than the technical college's decrease, but without it, the average Wisconsin taxpayers would have been paying $100 more in their total tax bills.
In Wisconsin, the town, village, or city treasurer collects property taxes not only for the municipality's own purposes but also for the school, the county and the state. Green County Treasurer office contracts with eight municipalities to collect their tax payments this year. The tax bills will come with instructions on when and where to pay.
In Green County, total tax rates increased by as much as 17.6 percent for the Town of Brooklyn in the Evansville School District to as little as 1.03 percent in the Village of Monticello/Monticello School. Decreases range from as much as 21.70 percent in the Town of Sylvester/Brodhead School to as little as 0.39 percent in the Town of Sylvester/Monroe School.
There are many reasons why property owners see changes in their tax bills.
All Green County property owners will see on their tax bills that Blackhawk Technical College's tax rate did decrease this year, by more than 40 percent, according to Green County Treasurer Sherri Hawkins.
Gov. Walker's proclaimed $100 tax cut is based on a $150,000 home in Wausau within Northcentral Technical College district. But in the Blackhawk Technical College district, a Green County home assessed at $97,400 will get $75 cut from the college's tax levied last year. A $100,000 home will be taxed $114 this year, down from $191 last year.
Taxpayers will see other changes on their bills as well.
Property tax bills in Wisconsin are a composite of taxes levied by many taxing entities in which the property is located - the state, county, city, school district and technical college. Part of the City of Monroe taxes includes an additional, BID tax that is imposed within the business improvement district in downtown. Some municipalities have a sanitary district or a lake district.
The "% Tax Change" printed on the tax bills is not the tax rates; rather, it shows how much an individual property is being charged by each entity compared to last year, with a negative percentage meaning it is less. Tax rates can be found by dividing the net tax amount by the assessed value of the property.
Hawkins also reminds people, tax amounts change when property assessments change or a local school district implements an additional tax by referendum.
In Green County, township boundaries often overlap more than one school district and vice versa. This can create differences in neighbors' tax bills even when their property values are exactly the same.
Each year, Hawkins fills out Green County's tax mill rate worksheet, which combines the tax rate of each municipality or section of municipality with its corresponding school district tax rate, and adds in the tax rates of the state, county, college and any additional taxes. There are 56 different tax rates throughout the county.
According to Hawkins' worksheets, 38 of those tax rates, about two-thirds, have decreased for 2014 compared to 2013, while 18 rates, or one-third, have increased.
The combined 2014 tax rates range from $27.10 per $1,000 of property value for the City of Monroe in the Monroe School District down to $16.03 for the Town of Sylvester in the Brodhead School District.
Increases in state, county, municipal or school taxes, combined, may be more than the technical college's decrease, but without it, the average Wisconsin taxpayers would have been paying $100 more in their total tax bills.
In Wisconsin, the town, village, or city treasurer collects property taxes not only for the municipality's own purposes but also for the school, the county and the state. Green County Treasurer office contracts with eight municipalities to collect their tax payments this year. The tax bills will come with instructions on when and where to pay.