Council approves state-required property revaluation, opts for full interior inspections

The Rhinelander Common Council has approved a contract with Associated Appraisal Consultants Inc. for a state-mandated revaluation of city parcels, opting for the more thorough of two inspection options after a lengthy discussion about cost, timeline and how the process could affect property tax bills. On July 13, the council voted to approve Resolution 2026-69, authorizing an agreement for the full-inspection option at a cost of $310,500, rather than a lower-cost, exterior-only option priced at $264,000.
City administrator Patrick Reagan told the council the revaluation has been anticipated since 2021 and is required because the city’s assessed values have fallen outside the state’s 10% tolerance threshold compared to actual market value. The city has been setting aside funding for the project over the past several years, and Reagan and finance director Wendi Bixby said the budgeted amount would cover the full-inspection option without affecting the current operating budget.
Mark Brown of Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc. told the council the $310,500 option includes full interior inspections where property owners allow access, while the $264,000 option would rely on exterior review only.
Alderman Steven Jopek called the full-inspection option “the more thorough option that gets us the best evaluation.” Alderman Gerald Anderson said he wanted to “try for full inspection and see what happens,” drawing a comparison to engineering contracts where firms don’t necessarily bill the full contracted amount if fewer hours are needed.
The appraiser said the firm typically expects interior access rates above 50% to 60% in cities, though rural townships often see lower participation. He said the cost is largely fixed regardless of how many property owners allow interior access, though benchmark-based pricing tiers are sometimes an option in other communities. Jopek asked whether the city could help boost participation by encouraging residents to allow inspectors inside; Reagan said staff could put out messaging encouraging residents to participate but was uncertain how much impact it would have. Mayor Kris Hanus asked whether it would cost extra to include a notice with quarterly water billing; Bixby indicated there would be some cost, though the amount wasn’t specified during the meeting.

The appraiser said the new assessments would take effect for the 2027 assessment year, meaning property owners would see any changes reflected in tax bills mailed in December 2027 — not this coming December. Open book and board of review sessions are expected in August or September 2027, timed to follow the state Department of Revenue’s Aug. 15 publication of equalized values each year, to ensure the city remains in compliance ahead of a possible state-mandated deadline.
Asked what kind of shift in tax burden communities typically see after a revaluation, Brown said residential properties are generally underassessed relative to market value compared with commercial properties under current market conditions, meaning revaluations often shift more of the tax burden toward residential owners. He said individual property owners whose values increase at roughly the same rate as the broader community’s overall increase should see relatively little change to their tax bills, since the tax rate typically adjusts downward to offset a broad-based increase in assessed value.
Hanus also asked about the revaluation’s effect on the city’s tax incremental financing districts, noting that TIF districts “lock in” a base year value. Brown said TIF district increments can become skewed the longer a community goes without updating assessments, and recommended communities keep valuations within about 10% of market value rather than waiting 15 to 20 years between updates, since TIF districts — often weighted toward commercial property — are particularly sensitive to outdated assessments.