(1) A county assessor system may be established for any county by passage of a resolution or ordinance adopting such a system by an approving vote of 60 percent of the entire membership of the county board. After passage of this enabling resolution or ordinance by the county board, the county executive, or the county administrator, or the chairperson of the county board with the approval of the county board, shall appoint a county assessor from a list of candidates provided by the department of revenue who have passed an examination and have been certified by the department of revenue as qualified for performing the functions of the office. Certification shall be granted to all persons demonstrating proficiency by passing an examination administered by the department. The persons selected for listing shall first have been given a comprehensive examination, approved by the department of revenue, relating to the work of county assessor. A person appointed as county assessor shall thereafter have permanent tenure, after successfully serving the probationary period in effect in the county, and may be removed or suspended only for the reasons named in s. 17.14 (1) or for such cause as would sustain the suspension or removal of a state employee under state civil service rules. If employees of a county are under a county civil service program, the county assessor may, and any person appointed as a member of his or her staff shall, be incorporated into the county civil service program but tenure is dependent on the foregoing provision. (1m) Upon request of a county that is considering the creation of an assessment system under this section, the department of revenue may study the feasibility of that creation. The county shall reimburse the department for the costs of the study. (3) (a) The division of personnel management in the department of administration shall recommend a reasonable salary range for the county assessor for each county based upon pay for comparable work or qualifications in that county. If, by contractual agreement under s. 66.0301, 2 or more counties join to employ one county assessor with the approval of the secretary of revenue, the division of personnel management shall recommend a reasonable salary range for the county assessor under the agreement. The department of revenue shall assist the county in establishing the budget for the county assessor’s offices, including the number of personnel and their qualifications, based on the anticipated workload. (b) The department of revenue shall establish levels of proficiency for all appraisal personnel to be employed in offices of county assessors. (5) The county assessor and the county assessor’s staff shall be supplied suitable quarters, equipment and supplies by the county. (6) In respect of any assessment made by a county assessor, the county assessor shall perform all the functions and acts theretofore required to be performed by the local assessor of the taxation district and shall have the same authority, responsibility and status, privileges and obligations of the assessor the county assessor displaces, except as clearly inconsistent with this section. (7) The county assessor may designate one member of the county assessor’s staff as deputy county assessor who shall have full power to act for the county assessor in the event of the inability of the county assessor to act through absence, incapacity, resignation or otherwise. (8) Each city, town and village assessor duly appointed or elected and qualified to make the assessment for a city, town or village shall continue in office for all purposes of completing the functions of assessor with respect to such current year’s assessment, but is divested of all authority in respect to the January 1 assessment that comes under the jurisdiction of the county assessor. (9) In making the first assessment of any city, town or village the county assessor shall equalize the assessment of property within each taxation district. Thereafter, the county assessor shall revalue each year as many taxation districts under the county assessor’s jurisdiction within the county as the county assessor’s available staff will permit so as to bring and maintain each such taxation district at a full value assessment. The county assessor shall proceed with such work so as to complete the revaluation of all taxation districts under the county assessor’s jurisdiction within 4 years. Such revaluation shall be made according to the procedures and manuals established by the department of revenue for the use of assessors. (10) (a) There shall be one board of review for each county under the county assessor system. The board of review in any county having a county executive shall be appointed by the county executive from the cities or villages or towns under the county assessor. The board of review of all other counties shall be appointed by the chairperson of the county board from the tax districts under the county assessor. County board of review appointments in all counties shall be subject to approval by the county board. The board of review shall have 5 to 9 members, no more than 2 of whom may reside in the same city, town or village, and shall hold office as members of said board for staggered 5year terms and until their successors are appointed and qualified. In counties other than Milwaukee County at least one member shall be from a town. The compensation and reimbursement of expenses of members of the board of review shall be fixed by the county board and shall be borne by the county. Each such board of review shall appoint one of its members present at the hearing as clerk and such clerk shall keep an accurate record of its proceedings. The provisions of s. 70.47, not in conflict with this section, shall be applicable to procedure for review of assessments by county boards of review and to appeals from determinations of county boards of review. (b) Two members of the board of review may hold the hearing of the evidence but a majority of the board members must be present to constitute a quorum at the meeting at which the determination of the issue is made. A majority vote of the quorum shall constitute the determination. In the event there is a tie vote, the assessor’s valuation shall be sustained. (c) A board member may not be counted in determining a quorum and may not vote concerning any determination unless, concerning such determination, such member: 1. Attended the hearing of the evidence; or 2. Received the transcript of the hearing no less than 5 days prior to the meeting and read such transcript; or 3. Received a mechanical recording of the evidence no less than 5 days prior to the meeting and listened to such recording; or 4. Received a copy of a summary and all exceptions thereto no less than 5 days prior to the meeting and read such summary and exceptions. In this subdivision “summary” means a written summary of the evidence prepared by one or more board members attending the hearing of evidence, which summary shall be distributed to all board members and all parties to the contested assessment and “exceptions” means written exceptions to the summary of evidence filed by parties to the contested assessment. (10m) The county board may by resolution establish a county board of assessors, which board shall be comprised of the county assessor or the deputy county assessor and such other members of the county assessor’s staff as the county assessor annually designates. If so established the county board of assessors shall investigate any objection referred to it by direction of the county board of review. The county board of assessors shall, after having made the investigation notify the person assessed or that person’s agent of its determination by first class mail, and a copy of such determination shall be transmitted to the county board of review. The person assessed having been notified of the determination of the county board of assessors shall be deemed to have accepted such determination unless that person notifies the county assessor in writing, within 10 days, of that person’s desire to present testimony before the county board of review. (10p) In counties that enter into a compact for a county assessor system, the board of review shall consist of 2 members appointed by each county with one additional member appointed by the county having the greatest full value. (11) The county assessor shall annually submit a budget request for funds to cover the operation of the county assessor system for the ensuing year to the county office responsible for preparing the county budget. (13) (a) 1. The department of revenue shall prescribe the due dates, the forms, and the format of information transmitted by the county assessor to the department as to the assessment of property and any other information that may be needed in the department’s work. The department of revenue shall also prescribe the form of assessment rolls, forms, books, and returns required for the assessment and collection of general property taxes by the county. The county shall submit material on or before the due dates that the department prescribes and shall use all of the material that the department prescribes. 2. The department of revenue shall design and make available to any county, basic computer programs for the preparation of assessment rolls, tax rolls and tax receipts which are deemed necessary by the secretary of revenue to the utilization of automatic data processing in the administration of the property tax. (b) The department of revenue shall prescribe minimum specifications for assessment maps. Any county whose assessment maps do not meet the department’s specifications at the time of converting to the county assessment system shall have 4 years from the first countywide January 1 assessment date to bring its maps in conformance with the department’s specifications. (c) The department of revenue shall determine the minimum number of staff members required for each county assessor’s office and the level of certification under sub. (3) required for each position. (d) In order to effect the orderly transition of local property assessment to the county assessor system, as soon as practicable after the effective date of the resolution or ordinance adopting such system, all assessment records, books, maps, aerial photographs, appraisal cards and any other data currently in the possession of any town, village or city shall be made available to and become the property of the county assessor. (14) A county may discontinue a county assessor system by passage of a resolution or ordinance by an approving vote of a majority of the entire membership of the county board. The effective date of the resolution or ordinance shall be December 31. A county shall, on or before October 31 of the year when the resolution or ordinance is effective, notify all municipalities in the county of its intent to discontinue its county assessor system. As soon as practicable after the effective date of the resolution or ordinance, the county shall transfer to the proper municipality all assessment records, books, maps, aerial photographs, appraisal cards and other assessment data in its possession.
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