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Consideration of approval of settlements for two Wis. Stat. 74.37 excessive property assessment claims - Lowes Home Centers, Inc., 12000 W. Burleigh Street, and Scott Schueller, 8217 Brookside Place
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Submitted by:
Derik Summerfield
Department
Finance Department
A. Issue
City Attorney and Assessor staff have come to preliminary settlement agreements with two properties that will result in property tax refunds for the property owners. In each case, the property owners filed a 74.37 excessive assessment claim.
B. Background/Options
City Attorney and Assessor staff have come to preliminary settlement agreements with two properties that will result in property tax refunds for the property owners. In each case, the property owners filed a 74.37 excessive assessment claim.
The first agreement involves Lowes Home Centers LLC located at 12000 W. Burleigh St. The parties agree that the agreed upon assessed value for the purpose of calculating the refund set forth is $15,356,300 for the 2025 tax year. Under this agreement, the City would pay $74,191.38 as a partial refund for the 2025 tax year. A review of the claims by the City Attorney’s office indicates that settlement now will be significantly more cost effective than incurring the costs to litigate the claim. Calculation of the refund is found below.
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Property ID: 2979995004 |
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Property Address: 12000 W BURLEIGH ST |
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Owner: LOWES HOME CENTERS INC |
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2025 Original Assessed Value |
$19,524,600 |
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2025 Amended Assessed Value |
$15,356,300 |
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Value Difference |
$4,168,300 |
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2025 Property Tax Rate |
$17.798954 |
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Property Tax Refund |
$74,191.38 |
The second agreement involves a residential property located at 8217 Brookside Place. After discussion, City staff determined that adjusting the 2025 assessed value and issuing a property tax refund to this property owner in hopes of eliminating this from becoming a lawsuit is in the best interest of the City. Calculation of the refund is found below.
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Property ID: 4070005000 |
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Property Address: 8217 BROOKSIDE PL |
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Owner: SCOTT A & SERAI M SCHUELLER |
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2025 Original Assessed Value |
$1,283,700 |
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2025 Amended Assessed Value |
$1,080,000 |
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Value Difference |
$203,700 |
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2025 Property Tax Rate |
$17.798954 |
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Property Tax Refund |
$3,625.65 |
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C. Strategic Plan (Area of Focus)
NA
D. Fiscal Impact
The amount involved requires an expenditure of $77,817.03 but approximately 70% will be recouped from the other taxing jurisdictions thru the chargeback process.
E. Recommendation
Staff requests that the Financial Affairs Committee recommend to Common Council that these partial property tax refunds be approved and that a Level 3 fund transfer be approved to make the refund payments and recognize the chargeback revenue
recommendation
This item may be moved into closed session pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(g) which allows for a governmental body to enter closed session to confer with legal counsel concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved.