Commissioners deny Wilgenburg tax abatement

Fred and Amy Wilgenburg won’t receive a refund for 20 years of property tax overpayment.
Commissioners unanimously denied the abatement request May 16, because the assessor’s mistake is not considered a clerical error.
In 2003 the Wilgenburgs moved a 1940s house onto their acreage near Valley Springs and built on a small addition and an attached garage. The home had a new foundation, roof and matching siding.
From the outside, it appeared to be a new home, but the interior was still the 1940s structure.
“It seems to me the statute is pretty clear we have no authority or any basis for changing anything at this point,” said Commissioner Greg Burger.
“I just want to make sure that we’ve got things in line to prevent something like this from happening again.”
The contracted township assessor noted in 2003 an interior assessment wasn’t completed and, from an exterior perspective, it was assessed as a newly built home.
The Wilgenburgs questioned the property’s proposed 2024 market value, which led to the discovery that the home is older and therefore has less value than a newly built home of 2003.
As a result, for 2024 property taxes, the home’s market value was decreased by $100,000 to $325,000.
On May 9, Fred Wilgenburg approached the commissioners requesting a refund for the tax overpayment due to the incorrect assessment.
On May 15, county attorney Jeff Haubrich drafted a response letter to the commissioners about the assessment error.
“The question as to what is a clerical error has long been interpreted very narrowly by the courts stating a clerical error is ‘a mistake in the clerical work of transcribing the particular record,” Haubrich stated.
“That is not what happened here. There was no transposing of numbers, no missing a decimal point, no mistake that would be considered clerical. There was a substantive determination of a valuation that turns out not to be correct, but it was the judgment of the township assessor at that time.”
State statute limits tax assessment appeals for clerical errors to the current tax year and two years prior.
 
Assessment procedures have changed
County assessor Rachel Jacobs said her office procedures have changed since 2003.
In 2008 a list of building permits was provided to the assessor’s office from the Land Management Office. Since then, copies of building permits are forwarded to the assessor’s office providing project details and contact numbers of the property owners.
In 2020 most townships and cities in Rock County contracted with the county assessor’s office for annual services.
Jacobs said her office reviews the majority of all 8,500 parcels in Rock County every five years.
As a courtesy her office now sends postcards alerting homeowners about an upcoming review visit, which includes an interior inspection, if the homeowner grants permission.
Most homeowners are not home nor do they respond to the request to complete an interior inspection.
Home owners can call the assessor’s office to ask questions about what information has been recorded about their properties.
So far, 30 appeals have been made to the assessor’s office involving the 2024 evaluation statements. Each has had interior inspections completed.
In some instances, the home’s evaluation increased due to upgrades not noticed during an external evaluation.
To assist commissioners with future requests, a county abatement policy for evaluations is being developed.