Finding tax information no longer so taxing Brown County tax record information now available online By Monique Balas News-Chronicle It's midnight and you suddenly realize you don't know the property taxes on that new house you're about to close on. Can't wait until 8 a.m.? Now it doesn't have to. Brown County has put its tax record information online, so county tax records, property tax values, tax bills and payment information, assessment valuations, legal descriptions and school district information is now available 24 hours a day. The site is www.co.brown.wi.us/. "It's a service to the public, so they can have it available to them 24/7," said county treasurer Kerry Blaney. "This information has been available on a limited basis, but now we have upgraded some elements of the program." The Web site, which became available in January, is funded by a grant from the state's Land Information Program, said Jeff Du Mez, county land information officer. The money is actually generated in the county but put aside by for grants that help modernize county land records systems throughout the state. Efforts to put tax record information online qualified for the program grant. "It's sort of like a user fee, that every time someone records a document such as a mortgage or a deed, there is a portion of that deed collected at the time that goes into the Land Information Program," Du Mez said. "Part of that fee is what funds this modernization effort." He said about $2 is taken out of the cost of each deed and put aside in the state fund. Staff programmers in Du Mez's office put the information online. "By putting it on the Internet, it does reduce the amount of phone calls," Du Mez said. "People don't necessarily have to come into our office to get this information anymore. That reduces the amount of staff time required to fulfill a request for information and also helps the public get the information they need. It's been helping a lot." Blaney said the site is user-friendly, and visitors can search the site either by parcel number or street address. "We think this is a big improvement by making this available to the public," Blaney said. "It's really good for real estate agents, title companies, mortgage companies or anybody who's looking for a house." FYI: The Web site is www.co.brown.wi.us. For parcel information, click on Land Records Information, then go to Search Parcel Assessment/Tax Information. For parcel maps, click on Land Records Information, then go to Brown County Parcel Maps and click on the appropriate municipality. Use the right click function on the mouse for viewing options.