MONROE - It turns out that the property value of Tax Increment District No. 7 in downtown Monroe did not just suddenly jump up by 22 percent in 2012, almost $7 million higher, a mystery that the city couldn't explain.
The value has been there all along, growing over the past several years. Reporting it has been fouled up, according to Ryan Andersen, a project manager for Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc., hired by the City of Monroe for residential and commercial assessment.
Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc. and other local assessment firms do not conduct manufacturing assessments - the state does that.
But Anderson took up The Times' request to find out what made TID 7 so lucrative last year.
The Manufacturing Department at the Department of Revenue took two weeks to answer Anderson's questions, and they still haven't answered them all, he reported.
According to Anderson, one manufacturing business downtown has multiple locations with assets inside and outside of the TID 7 boundaries, but it had been reporting all of their assets on one report that wasn't being included in the TID.
"The DOR finally realized this and corrected it for 2013," Anderson noted in an email, Monday, Sept. 9.
The DOR is also making an adjustment, under Sec. 70.57 of the Wisconsin Statutes, to correct it for 2011 ($2,969,300) and 2012 ($3,360,200).
"These adjustments make up the majority of the change in value reported for 2013," Anderson added.
The reported 2013 annual increase was about three times the increased amount the district has seen in its lifetime.
The district was started in 2005 as a blighted area, valued at $30 million, and is scheduled to dissolve in 2027. Last year the district was reportedly at $32.4 million. This year, the district's equalized value is at $39.4 million.
The value has been there all along, growing over the past several years. Reporting it has been fouled up, according to Ryan Andersen, a project manager for Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc., hired by the City of Monroe for residential and commercial assessment.
Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc. and other local assessment firms do not conduct manufacturing assessments - the state does that.
But Anderson took up The Times' request to find out what made TID 7 so lucrative last year.
The Manufacturing Department at the Department of Revenue took two weeks to answer Anderson's questions, and they still haven't answered them all, he reported.
According to Anderson, one manufacturing business downtown has multiple locations with assets inside and outside of the TID 7 boundaries, but it had been reporting all of their assets on one report that wasn't being included in the TID.
"The DOR finally realized this and corrected it for 2013," Anderson noted in an email, Monday, Sept. 9.
The DOR is also making an adjustment, under Sec. 70.57 of the Wisconsin Statutes, to correct it for 2011 ($2,969,300) and 2012 ($3,360,200).
"These adjustments make up the majority of the change in value reported for 2013," Anderson added.
The reported 2013 annual increase was about three times the increased amount the district has seen in its lifetime.
The district was started in 2005 as a blighted area, valued at $30 million, and is scheduled to dissolve in 2027. Last year the district was reportedly at $32.4 million. This year, the district's equalized value is at $39.4 million.