Damakant Jayshi
On Tuesday, the Wausau Finance Committee will talk about requests from two entities claiming they were wrongly charged property tax and want their money back.
The meeting of the committee, slated to begin at 5 p.m. at the City Hall, will discuss requests from the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum for the recovery of nearly $17,500 and another claim from the Vistas at Greenwood Hills Subdivision for a recovery of nearly $9,500. In both cases, City Assessor Richard Rubow has recommended that the claims be disallowed.
Leigh Yawkey Museum Director Matt Foss wrote to the City Clerk’s office saying the organization is nonprofit and thus exempt from paying taxes on properties.
“I believe the City Assessor should have applied a ‘Readying Rule’ as part of his assessment,” Foss wrote in a letter dated Jan. 30, a day after paying the museum paid the property tax. The “Readying Rule” states that in interpreting the exemption statute, the assessor should consider that “the property is being developed to further its exempt purpose.”
The letter points out that the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum has been exempt from local, stale, and federal taxes since its incorporation. The document also provides background on adjacent property at 601 N. 12th St., which has been owned by the museum and exempt from property taxes since its purchase in 2016. After buying the property, the museum razed two blighted structures on the land, each located on two separate parcels, and turned the land into a pocket park for the community.
The museum’s letter added that it promotes the City of Wausau with the thousands of artists, museum colleagues, and art world professionals and is providing free and accessible visual arts experiences to not only to the people of Wausau, but also residents of Wisconsin and visitors from around the world.
In response, Assessor Rubow, citing a 2004 case law, said the “Readying Rule” does not apply to buildings under construction, while also noting that no exemption request was filed by the organization requesting an exemption on the improved parcel. Rubow is recommending the claim be disallowed for failing to request an exemption. The property tax ID did not exist in a prior year and there was a use change from vacant to improved, he wrote.
Similarly, the Vistas at Greenwood Hills, a housing project of Green Acres at Greenwood Hills LLC has already made its payment to avoid late fees.
“Please be advised that we are making this payment of $9,422.93 to the City under protest,” a Dec. 31, 2023 letter from James Wanserski, president of Green Acres at Greenwood Hills LLC said. “We do not believe that we owe this amount, but we are making the payment to avoid any late fees or penalties.”
The developer said that the parcels in question are owned by the City of Wausau. The company cites two letters from the city’s staff, one from 2010 and another from 2013, claiming that the city acknowledged the “property’s dedication.”
However, Rubow said that the Assessment Department became aware in December 2022 that the property is not actually owned by the city.
“It was discovered that the property was not conveyed to and accepted by the City of Wausau,” Rubow said, noting that the private gate and the private roads on the parcels are legally taxable. He is recommending the claim be disallowed for “failure to prove their claim that the property assessed was conveyed to the City.”
Wausau Pilot & Review has also reached out to the Finance Committee Chair Lisa Rasmussen seeking additional information and inviting comment on the matter. A response was not received prior to press time.
