Within the coming months, all real property within the City of Black River Falls will be revalued with the assistance of Bowmar Appraisal, Inc. The City of Black River Falls’ assessment ratio is not in compliance with State Statutes, requiring a revaluation to be performed. The law mandates each municipality be within 10% of the Market Value once every 5 years, and the City’s assessment ratio fell out of compliance in 2020.  The revaluation will be conducted in accordance with the standards developed by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR). The revaluation program has but one aim: to equalize the tax base for all real property based on fair market value as of January 1, 2024. The aim is not to raise anyone’s tax bill but rather to be sure each property owner pays his/her fair share using the facts obtained during the revaluation.

All property owners and tenants are urged to cooperate with the authorized field appraisers. The field work is a full exterior revaluation which means the assessor will review recent sales, existing property records and view the exterior of each property to calculate the assessments. In most cases, an appraiser will not need to view the interior of anyone’s home. If they do need to view the interior, then the property owner will receive a letter requesting access. 

Bowmar Appraisal expects to start field work on commercial properties in early November.  The goal will be to get the majority, if not all, of the commercial properties visited by the end of the year and then begin on the residential properties in the spring of 2024.

Taxpayers are entitled to know the facts about the revaluation and how it is expected to affect them or their tenants. Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the revaluation are available online at https://blackriverfallswi.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Revaluation-FAQ-BRFs.pdf.