Property revaluation scheduled for 2026

NEW LONDON – All the properties in the city of New London will be subject to the revaluation process this year in which the values of the properties are reassessed.
Adam Servi, assessor II and real estate appraiser for Servi Group, Inc., told the New London Finance & Personnel Committee at its Feb. 4 meeting that the city is due for the revaluation process this year because every major class of property needs to be maintained within 10% of market value once in a five-year period.
The last time a revaluation was done in the city was in 2017.
He said the city’s residential property fell out of compliance in 2021, adding that in November, the city received a second notice from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue informing the city that it was in non-compliance.
“That’s basically indicating that we have to have the numbers in compliance by Nov. 2026, otherwise the state will order a supervised assessment in 2027,” Servi said.

Based on sales in 2024, Servi said that properties in the city are at roughly 62% of sale prices, Servi said. He added that is mostly driven by residential properties which are under 60%. Commercial properties are currently at about 70%.

Communication
Servi said communications with city residents regarding the revaluation process will be important. He said he will be sending a letter to each property owner in the city to let them know that their property will be revalued in 2026. The letter will also include a timeline of the revaluation process. Property owners should receive the letter by the end of February.
Property owners will have the opportunity to speak with Servi about the revaluation of their property, as well as objecting to the revaluation number, Servi said. He added that the process should conclude in October and will impact the property tax bill property owners receive at the end of 2026.
“There’s too many moving parts for me to project what your taxes are going to be at this point,” Servi said. “Until we start having an idea of what budgets are doing and where the numbers are falling. I tried doing that in Clintonville a little bit and it ended up burning me because I underestimated how much the budgets were going to jump.”

Servi said the properties will not be physically reviewed onsite. He will review all properties based on all the record he and the county have.
“I’ll be doing a land audit based on county records,” Servi said.
Inspections will be performed based on 2025 building permits, sales, land splits and combinations, and other property changes.
Aerial images will also be used, Servi said. These images will be used to see the number of buildings on a property. He said this could trigger in-person inspections.
The review process for all properties in the city takes 3-4 days to complete, and Servi said he plans to go through that process at least four times.
Servi said he anticipates having the revaluation numbers sent to residents by the end of August, with an open book period in September. Board of review would then be in early October.
A total of 2,866 properties will be revaluated, with roughly 2,200 of them residential properties, Servi said.
Servi said a revaluation does not necessarily mean property taxes will increase for a property owner.
“It updates property values to the current market so it’s distributed more fairly,” Servi said. “The way our laws are structured is the more valuable your property is, the more taxes you pay.”
He added, “Budgets drive the taxes, where assessments breakout the burden.”
Ald. Tim Roberts asked for verification that the revaluation would not increase the tax levy.
Servi said the city’s tax levy is determined by the city’s budget. He added that the revaluation will determine the percentage that each property owner pays toward the city’s tax levy.