The City Assessor is statutorily required to determine the assessable and taxable value of all real and tangible personal property within the City. The General Property Tax Act of the State of Michigan states that the taxable status of all real and personal property shall be determined as of each December 31st, which is deemed Tax Day.

Approval of Proposal A on March 15, 1994, brought on significant changes to the property tax system. It, however, did not change the fact that all real and personal property must still be assessed at 50% of its true cash value. Two biggest changes of Proposal A was the requirement of the Assessor to calculate a properties, "taxable and capped value" and the requirement of homeowners to file Homeowners Principal Residence and Property Transfer Affidavits forms. Property taxes are now calculated using a properties taxable value, rather than the assessed or state equalized value. You can access more information on Homeowners Principal Residence, Property Transfers and other related property assessment information by visiting the States web site:  http://www.michigan.gov/treasury

The City Assessor utilizes various information when estimating the market or true cash value of a property. This information may include legal descriptions, property improvements, lot dimensions, age of home, and/or other buildings, land value, building square footage, and sale information. The Assessor does not create value. The value of your property is created by economic forces in the market of buyers and sellers. This information is all public information and can be obtained through the Assessor's Office. To obtain the last known 300 sales within the City, click  "SALES INFORMATION" . 

   All property owners have the right to appeal each year the assessment and taxable values that are calculated and placed against their property. An appeal must be made to the City's Board of Review in March, in order to preserve the right to a further appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. For more appeal information click  "APPEALS”.   

Click here for the information on the March Board of Review for 2006. 

Assessors are always the first ones who are blamed for rising taxes. They do not establish tax rates and do not decide on how much taxes are to be paid. The Assessors task is to estimate the fair market value of your property. To see an example on how to estimate your Summer and Winter taxes, click  "ESTIMATING TAXES".   

Even though the City Assessor has a statutory duty to assess your property, she has a larger responsibility in making sure you are familiar with how the system works. Please call City Hall, if you should have any questions.

For Basic Property Information on all Properties within the City, such as Ownership, Property Descriptions, Year Built, Lot Sizes and Tax Information, click  "Online Tax Lookup" .