July 7, 2017: PROPERTY OWNER VICTORY! Milewski v. Town of Dover

(Vincent Milewski v. Town of Dover, J. Kelly opinion, JJ. Abrahamson and A.W.Bradley dissent) Currently in Wisconsin a property owner has the right to refuse entry to a tax assessor, however refusal means the property owner can not challenge the assessment. The Milewski’s challenge that standing in this court case. In this case the Milewski’s refused to allow the assessor into their home for an assessment. When their assessment came back 12% higher than previous assessments, the Milewski’s looked into other properties in the area. The Milewski’s found that of the 43 parcels assessed, four properties refused entry, and all four properties saw an increase in their initial assessment. All 39 other properties saw a decrease in their assessments. The Supreme Court says, “Applying Wis. Stat. §§ 70.47(7)(aa) and 74.37(4)(a) in a manner that required submission to a tax assessor's search as a precondition to challenging the revaluation of their property violated the Milewskis' due process rights as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article I section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution. Consequently, we reverse the court of appeals and remand to the circuit court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.” WAA NOTE: There is also Legislation pending that also deals with this situation. WAA Supports this Legislation.