CCR2003069.
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COMMON COUNCIL - CITY OF MUSKEGO
RESOLUTION #069.2003
OPPOSING THE TRANSFER OF ASSESSING MANUFACTURING
PROPERTY TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
WHEREAS, Governor James Doyle, in his budget proposal for the next
biennium, is recommending that manufacturing property, which is now assessed
by the State of Wisconsin, be assessed by local governments; and
WHEREAS, The State of Wisconsin took over the assessment of manufacturing
property in 1974 because of the disparity in resources and lack of professional
staff in local government to conduct defensible assessments of manufacturing
property; and
WHEREAS, The State of Wisconsin assumed the assessment of manufacturing
property because of the development of inequities among local jurisdictions and
the potential for the creation of tax havens to attract manufacturing plants as part
of a community's economic development strategy; and
WHEREAS, The State of Wisconsin now maintains a database of all
manufacturing property which provides data of comparable sales, data which is
necessary for making assessments and defending assessments but which will
not be made available to local jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, Many manufacturers have real and personal property in numerous
local jurisdictions adding to the difficulty for a local government to determine an
assessed vallie for a manufacturer's property located in the State of Wisconsin;
and .
WHEREAS, Local assessors who have no experience in assessing
manufacturing properties, e.g., Quad Graphics in Hartford, Lands End in
Dodgeville, Rockwell Automation in Mequon, and Kimberly Clark in the Fox River
Valley would have their assessments ripe for chalienge by property owners; and
WHEREAS, The uniformity and equity achieved in assessing manufacturing
property by having the State of Wisconsin assess all manufacturing property will
be seriously eroded if not lost entirely; and
WHEREAS, The Governor's proposal shifts the cost of assessing manufacturing
property and defending assessments to local government thereby losing the
economies of scale and thereby increasing the costs of assessment for all
Wisconsin citizens and increasing property taxes.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Muskego does hereby
go on record opposing the transfer of the responsibility of assessing
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Resolution #069-2003 Page 2
manufacturing property to local government and that the State of Wisconsin
continue to assess manufacturing property in order to preserve the credibility and
defensibility of the assessments.
DATED THIS DAY OF March ,2003. 25th
SPONSORED BY
Mayor Mark A. Slocomb
This is to certify that this is a true and accurate copy of Resolution #069-2003
which was adopted by the Common Council of the City of Muskego.
~~K ff(/1A~ CI -Treasurer
2/03 jm