Franklin taxpayers are regularly told by the mayor and some aldermen that business contributes to the tax base and drives down residential taxes, overall. But in reality is this truly the case and is this a fair and honest claim?
While reviewing recent property sales in Franklin we came across Brenwood Park senior housing Apartments at 9535 W. Loomis Road, which was assessed in 2010 at $2.757 million, along with an adjacent two-and-one-half acre parcel valued at $553,600. When the property owner was notified of the increased valuation, they objected. Consequently the City lowered its valuation to $2.588 million and $261,500 on the adjacent two-and-one-half acre parcel. In March, the same piece of property, minus the two-and-one-half acre parcel was sold for $9.6 million. This was confirmed by the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds office. What does this mean to Franklin taxpayers?
Based on the $2.588 million assessment the owners were paying roughly $64,000 in property taxes. If and when the City of Franklin changes the value, based on the current sale price, this property will generate $237,000 in property tax. THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL brought this to the attention of Mark Link, Tyler/CLT, City Assessor. Tyler/CLT is an outside company hired by Franklin. We asked Mr. Link how a property in less than a year could be so drastically undervalued. We supplied him with our documentation and were assured that he would look into the matter and let us know; because iquite frankly, he had no explanation.
Very shortly, THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL will begin a new, Franklin real estate feature with data links to properties sold in Franklin. We hope this will help residents with determining fair market values, in addition to keeping our readers informed of emerging trends.
To comment privately on this article or any other aspect of this publication click here.