By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Municipal leaders in the Village of Union Grove and Town of Raymond are the latest to jump in and speak out against a proposal to shift assessment services from the local level to a countywide system.
In his upcoming 2015-17 biennium budget, Gov. Scott Walker has proposed the mandate for most Wisconsin municipalities, although communities with populations greater than 39,000 could opt out of the plan and retain the assessment services in-house.
Across the state, leaders of cities, villages and towns have been passing resolutions in recent weeks as a sign of opposition. The gestures are I informative but non-binding. An ultimate decision about the proposal remains in the hands of state lawmakers.
At local meetings held March 23, the municipal boards in both Union Grove and Raymond passed their own resolutions, hoping for a “strength in numbers” scenario that will encourage decision-makers in Madison to move away from the proposal they believe represents another chip away at local control over a specific issue.
State Rep. Thomas Weatherston, R-Racine, spoke to the Raymond Town Board about the issue at ther meeting and said he is an adamant opponent.
“I think it’s a crazy idea,” Weatherston said, when asked by the Town Board to opine on the proposal.
“Right now, I’m waiting to see if it’s going to make its way through the budget.”
Walker has explained the proposed shift is designed to bring uniformity across the state on the intervals property assessments are conducted in local communities.
In some smaller, rural municipalities, property assessments have reportedly been delayed for long periods of time.
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