Drastic Tax Increases for Some Superior Residents

Property owners are receiving the unwelcome surprise, despite prior assurances by local leaders

SUPERIOR, Wisc. – Surprise and frustration as some in Superior see steep rise on property taxes.

As Superior residents received their property taxes this week, some were shocked to see the increase. The hike comes after local leaders had reassured residents that this year’s bill would see little to no increase.

Earlier this fall, on social media, Mayor Jim Paine addressed concerns over how property reassessments would impact taxes. Mayor Paine stated that property valuations are required every few years. At the time of his post, he indicated that property owners would not see much change in their bills following the reassessments.

“There are many people that have just received a bill that was much, much larger than what they’ve received in the past because their value increased, relative to many others,” the Mayor said during an interview today. “That’s not the whole reason for the bill, though, as the school district reported, they had a very large increase because they lost a lot of their state aid.” Mayor Paine encouraged those with property tax concerns to contact his office.

The largest share of property taxes is billed by the Superior School District; however, despite cutting costs in recent years including the closure of an elementary school, the district said their state funding for 2025 was slashed.

The School Board’s Director of Business Services David See said the state plays the largest role in determining how schools are funded.  See said the district’s “aid went from $35 million down to $32 million. So, what that means is because they reduced our equalization aid to the spirit of the district by $3 million, that means property taxpayers that need to make up that difference on that $3 million.”

See encouraged residents to reach out to their state legislature representative, and advocate that more funding be allocated to local education.