A Facebook message from a viewer led TMJ4 to look into property tax increases in Wauwatosa, where we found many residents are facing bills thousands of dollars higher than expected.Nancy Brennan received her property tax bill Fr iday morning and was shocked by the amount."It will be $9,608.52 and I was like ughhhh," Brennan said. Brennan, a Wauwatosa homeowner and local real estate agent, thought her bill might increase by $1,000, but the actual increase was double that amount."I thought maybe it would go up a $1,000, but $2,000? That's a lot," Brennan said.The significant increases stem from city-wide property reassessments and school referendums passed by voters, according to city data. Brennan believes the reassessment process should happen annually rather than in large jumps.Watch: Property tax bills shock Wauwatosa homeowners Property tax bills shock Wauwatosa homeowners"They should be doing like other municipalities do, every year, so that it's just in little increments," Brennan said.The increases are affecting many residents across the city, with some facing bills in the thousands."These are not a couple hundreds of dollars. These are thousands of dollars for people," Brennan said.A spokesperson for the City of Wauwatosa sent the following statement:Wauwatosa property tax bills are available online this week and will begin arriving in the mail by December 11. We know this isnt the most exciting mail to receive, but weve made paying and understanding your taxes as easy as possible.Taxes are also the reason our communities function:Theyre the firefighters who show up in minutes.The police officers who keep neighborhoods safe.The clean water coming from your tap.The parks your kids play in.The libraries that open doors for everyone.The garbage picked up every week.The snowplows, the tree trimming, the everyday invisible services we rely on without thinking.However, not every household saw an increase."Feeling pretty good because it went down about what did we say bout $400," Cynthia Parman said. Parman understands the frustration of higher bills from past experience but encourages patience."Mine have done that in the past, and now they're coming down. So just trust, and it will be good," Parman said.Residents who cannot pay the full amount at once have payment options available."You can pay in January, March and May. So I think a lot of people are gonna do that," Brennan said.Click here to see payment options.Property owners who haven't received their bills yet should expect them in the mail within the coming days.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip ...read more read less