The 1846 City of Milwaukee Charter established that there would be one assessor for
each ward appointed by the Common Council. At that time, no Tax Commissioner was
appointed and the Treasurer had the responsibility of collecting all monies paid
into the treasury and recording all receipts and disbursements separately for each
ward. The City Charter was amended in the 1860s to establish a Tax Commissioner who
would oversee the assessors and be responsible for the collection of taxes. Today,
the Tax Department makes all assessments upon real and personal property within the
City, except railroads and public utilities, which are assessed by the State Tax
Commission. The Tax Department keeps a complete set of records of all lots, blocks,
fractional lots, and parcels of land in the City, and all other records necessary
and convenient to carry out its work. Personal property is assessed on the first day
of May, while real estate may be assessed anytime between the first day of May and
the meeting of the Board of Review, consisting of the Mayor, City Clerk, Tax
Commissioner, and all the Assessors. The board meets to examine and adjust all
assessments, which are properly brought before it. The City is divided into
districts for the purpose of assessments.
