Although zillow.com says the value of my Milwaukee home has increased 108 percent over the past 10 years, last year -- for the first time in years -- the assessment went unchanged. This year, it's down nearly 5 percent (I think, my math skills aren't top).
So, is that good news, bad news or no news?
I guess it's good news in that my tax bill will reflect that change, too, come December. But if they raise the tax rate, it won't make much difference as compared to last year's bill. If I was looking to sell, as my neighbors are, it probably would be bad news, since it likely means they'll have to lower the asking price.
All the homes I checked in my West Side neighborhood appeared to have lower assessments this year. Meanwhile, I checked a few addresses in Bay View and noted that all of them saw no change in their assessments over last year. Considering Bay View is a pretty "hot" area, I'd have expected a rise there, if anywhere in the city. Especially, when I heard that, overall, assessments are up 2 percent in the City of Milwaukee.
Anecdotally, a friend told me this morning that someone he knows who lives near 25th Street and North Avenue had a 30 percent increase in their assessment this year. Of course, it's possible they did some major renovations or improvements, I don't know. But that sure sounds like a pretty massive jump.
Check your new assessment at the link below.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
