Lake Geneva real estate tax system got “fixed”.

In the hazy realm of real estate tax assessments, Lake Geneva boasts a couple of standout maneuvers that would make Machiavelli blush. First up: cozying up to an assessor who prefers to skim the surface rather than delve deep. In the land of Lake Geneva, Mayor Kline decided to shuffle the deck and brought in some fresh-faced assessors. Turns out, the old guard had a penchant for only bumping up property values if a homeowner decided to spruce things up a bit, and even then, they’d only tack on what the owner deigned to disclose on a Building Permit. Crafty, huh? But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Then there’s the good ol’ boys’ game of snagging seats on the Board of Review. You know, where you and your pals can cozy up and nudge those assessments in your favor. Sweet deal if you can swing it.

Fast forward to 2023, and the scene’s undergone a seismic shift. New assessors hit the scene like a wrecking ball, deciding it’s high time for a full-on reckoning. Turns out, the city had been floating along on a cloud of under assessment to the tune of 43%. But hold onto your hats, because some downtown properties were flirting with under assessment levels that’d make even the most audacious gambler sweat bullets. And who was sitting pretty on the Board of Review? Surprise, surprise it’s the same old faces from the good ol’ boys’ club.

Take, for instance, property ZOP 00347 over on 100 Broad Street. In the bygone days of 2022, it lounged comfortably with a modest valuation of $211,500, kicking in a paltry $3380 in taxes, plus a sprinkle of special sauce for the Business Improvement District. Fast forward to the present, and those new assessors are dropping a bombshell revaluing it at a cool $1.129 million, demanding a hefty $14,400.34 in tribute. Suffice it to say, the owner ain’t exactly doing cartwheels of joy. Word on the street? Apparently, this fella had a cozy seat on the Board of Review for a solid seven years. Coincidence? You be the judge.

But hey, if you’re playing the tax game, you best know the lay of the land. Here’s a little cheat sheet: a rundown of neighboring townships ranked by their mill rate the magic number that determines just how much of your hard-earned dough gets siphoned off. Geneva Township kicks things off with a modest .00919, while Lake Geneva itself clocks in at .01281 a bit heftier, but hey, that’s the price of lakeside luxury.

Geneva township      .0091900670

Williams Bay             .0119971350

Lyons Township        .0120368150

Fontana                   .0126501280

Lake Geneva            .0128121710

Lynn Township          .0141596380

Elkhorn                    .0158253790

Delavan                   .0224526400

And as if things weren’t juicy enough, there’s whispers of mayors past eyeing up the tax base like a fox sizing up a hen house. Take Bill Chesen, for example, who had his sights set on roping in some outlying properties into the city limits. Why? To beef up that tax revenue, of course. Word has it, snagging the Grand Geneva Resort a behemoth over in Lyons Township could potentially line the city’s tax base with a cool $100 million. The pro business city of Lake Geneva provide water to some property owners in Lyons and Geneva Townships.

Ah, the sweet, sweet symphony of power, money, and good old-fashioned political maneuvering. Just another day in the wild world of Lake Geneva.