Athens residents receive assessments

Athens village clerk Lisa Czech told the village board on Monday that all residents should have received their property assessment notice from Hoffman Appraisal in the mail, in preparation for the village’s first property assesment since 2009.

Board president Randy Decker asked Czech if she has received any complaints from property owners about their assessment.

“We are receiving questions from people wondering what their taxes are going to be this year and we just have no way of knowing,” Czech responded. “I spoke to our assessor, Terry Vosburgh of Hoffman Appraisal, and he said most assessors don’t even give dollar amounts in the notices they mail to property owners, because it’s not his role to talk to them about taxes. This is just an assessment, so he is walking this fine line between giving too much information where people could say, ‘You said my taxes weren’t going up’ when that’s not what he said.’” Czech said the village’s 2025 assessment roll will be open for public inspection from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2, in the village board meeting room at the municipal building. Village residents can call the village clerk’s office at 715-257-9170 to make an appointment.

The Athens Board of Review will meet from 2-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, in the village board meeting room at the municipal building to review and examine the 2025 assessment roll of property in the village. Any village resident interested in appearing before the Board of Review needs to file an objection form, which are available in the village clerk’s office at 203 Alfred St., before 2 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15. Objections will be scheduled to be heard by the Board of Review in the order in which the village clerk receives them.

When a village resident appears before the Board of Review, he or she needs to specify in writing the estimated value of their land and all the improvements to it that are the subject of the person’s objection. The resident also needs to specify the information he or she used to arrive at that estimate.

Other business

■ The board approved a $1 per hour pay raise for streets department worker Nathan Heier after he obtained his CDL license.

■ Board members approved a Combination B License for Athens Main Street Social, LLC, with agent Mary Lou Zettler.

■ The board approved a picnic license for the Friends of Christian Education for Saturday, Oct. 18, in Athens Community Hall.

■ Village board members approved an alcohol operator’s license for Bradley Zettler.

■ The village’s trick-or-treating for Halloween will be from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31.