The city of Fond du Lac has reached a settlement agreement with Walmart in a civil lawsuit filed by Walmart alleging their assessed property values are too high. The complaint filed by Walmart alleged the value of their Fond du lac property was no higher than $5.4 million and that the city’s assessment of nearly $10.5 million was excessive. Under the agreement, the assessment is listed at $10 million resulting in the city refunding Walmart just under $12,000 in property taxes paid in 2018. Fond du Lac judge Peter Grimm signed off on the agreement last week. Fond du lac city manager Joe Moore says he is satisfied with the outcome. “In the big picture, that’s a good outcome for us,” Moore told WFDL news. “It sets the stage and builds a foundation for moving foward.” In this case it was Walmart, but Moore says other big box stores are using the same strategy called the “dark store theory.” They want assessors to value their business the same as a closed or dark store. Moore says the problem is when municipalities lower values there will be a shift in taxes to homeowners.