The Assessor’s Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Tax amounts that residents pay for the year are available at the Treasurer's Office — 429-1065. During the morning hours you may also obtain legal descriptions, assessed and taxable values, owner's names and parcel identification numbers from the Treasurer's Office.

Click here for a statewide search for subdivision Plats
This system provides access to digital images, with print capability, of the plats and related documents of land subdivisions in the State of Michigan's plat files.

The Assessor’s Office is required to appraise, for tax purposes, all real and personal property within the City. In Michigan, State law requires that all property be revalued annually based on current market conditions. The State Equalized Value (S.E.V.) shall not exceed 50% of the market value of the property.

Assessment Change Notice — This notice is mailed to all commercial, industrial and residential properties in the city each year around the end of February. This notice indicates the prior year and current year Assessed and Taxable Values. Your property taxes are calculated based on your taxable values. Included with this notice are the meeting dates and times of the Property Tax (March) Board of Review. Also, this notice should be saved, as the Taxable Value for the current year must be listed on your State Income Tax Return for the following year.

March Board Of Review — This Board is convened during the second week of March, meeting on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The Board of Review is a group of 3 citizens appointed by the Mayor and City Council under State law to hear taxpayer appeals. If you feel that your Assessed or Taxable Values are too high, based on your analysis of your property, you may file a protest with this Board. Meetings with the Board of Review are by appointment only. These dates are required to be published in the local newspaper (News Herald) and posted at various locations around the City.

July And December Board Of Reviews — These Boards convene to correct factual errors in Assessment Records. You may come to the Assessing Department at any time and review your record to ensure that you are being assessed properly. You may also appeal for a poverty exemption (must meet income guidelines) at the March, July or December Boards of Review.

Michigan Tax Tribunal (MTT) — If you challenge the Assessed Valuation on your property to the March Board of Review and are not satisfied with their decision, you may protest further to the MTT. You do not need an attorney to do this. The residential Small Claims Division is set up to accommodate small taxpayers' disputes. The decision that an MTT Judge makes on your property valuation is final within the MTT jurisdiction. To protest your assessment, you must file a letter with the MTT no later than June 30th of the current year. This information is also on the Board of Review Notice that is sent to the petitioner notifying them of the Board of Review's decision.

The Michigan Homestead Exemption — When you purchase a home the title company should, at the time of closing, execute a Homestead Exemption Affidavit. This form ensures that you will be able to pay property taxes at the lower school / homestead millage rate. To qualify for the Homestead Exemption, you must own and occupy the home as your principal residence. These forms are also available at the Assessor’s Office.

Property Transfer Affidavits — You must file this form whenever there is a transfer of ownership of real property (home/lot), even if you are only adding or removing a spouse or child to the title. There may be a fine of $5.00 per day to a maximum of $200.00 for failure to file this form. If you close at a title company, this form should be supplied to you. The Assessor's Office can supply you with this form, if needed.

Poverty Exemptions — Low income (must meet city guidelines) residents may apply for poverty exemptions (also known as "hardships") from the Board of Review. Petitioner's need to submit a Poverty Exemption Application (available at the Assessor’s Office), a valid Michigan Driver's License or a Michigan Identification card, copies of their current or previous year Federal and State Income Tax papers, and any additional documentation the petitioner feels may demonstrate their need for poverty exemption. For more information, call the Assessing Department at 429-1045.

Field Sheets — Field sheets, or property cards, are available at the Assessor’s Office. These are sheets that show the outside dimensions of the home, how many square feet of living space, year built, lot size, legal description, assessed and taxable values and property I.D.#. You may obtain a copy of your card for $1.00.

HOW PROPOSAL “A” AFFECTS YOUR PROPERTY TAXES!!

On March 15, 1994 the voters in Michigan approved a Constitutional Amendment known as Proposal "A". This amendment changed how property taxes are levied.

Your Notice of Assessment will include three values. They are:

1. TAXABLE VALUE: (TV) Taxable Value is the amount against which your taxes will be calculated. (Taxable value x tax rate)

2. ASSESSED VALUE: (AV) Assessed value is 50% of the usual selling price or the true cash value of your property. (Sale price of $90,000, assessed value $45,000).

3. STATE EQUALIZED VALUE: (SEV) SEV is the assessed value as finalized by the County and State Equalization Process. In most municipalities the SEV and AV will be the same.

IF THERE WAS A TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP (SALE) on your property the year prior to receiving your notice, your current Taxable Value will be the same as your current State Equalized Value.

IF THERE WAS NOT A TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP on your property in the year prior to receiving your notice, your current Taxable Value is calculated by multiplying your prior year’s Taxable Value by the Consumer Price Index for the current year which is determined by the State. Physical changes in your property may also increase or decrease your Taxable Value. Your Taxable Value cannot be higher than your current State Equalized Value. If you have any questions about your notice, you may call the Assessor’s office at 429-1045.

TAXABLE VALUE IS WHAT YOUR TAXES WILL BE BASED ON.