Muskegon County Equalization

What's New...

UPDATE - MARCH 3, 2010
Why did you NOT receive an Assessment Change Notice?

The answer is found in the General Property Tax Act (see below) where the notice shall be sent if the property has an INCREASE in the tentative state equalized value OR the tentative taxable value for the year. If neither the tentative state equalized value or tentative taxable value have an increase, a change of assessment notice is not required to be mailed out. An excerpt of the General Property Tax Act is below, or you can click HERE to view the entire law as ammended.

THE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 206 of 1893

211.24c Notice of increase in tentative state equalized valuation or tentative taxable value; contents; required information and forms; addressing and mailing assessment notice; effect of failure to send or receive assessment notice; calculation of tentative equalized valuation; model assessment notice form; statement; separate statement.

Sec. 24c. (1) The assessor shall give to each owner or person or persons listed on the assessment roll of the property a notice by first-class mail of an increase in the tentative state equalized valuation or the tentative taxable value for the year.

UPDATED DECEMBER 2009 -
Understanding Proposal A in a Declining Market
A brochure to help you understand the current real estate market and property values. Click HERE to view or download the brochure.

Why are my property taxes going up when property values are not?
Click HERE for an article by Muskegon County Equalization Director Donna Stokes that explains what is happening.

How Much will my Property Taxes Be?
Click HERE for the NEW Muskegon County Tax Estimation Calculator

About Muskegon County Equalization

Established by the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners, in compliance with the General Property Tax Act of the State of Michigan, the Muskegon County Equalization Department, under the direction of Donna Stokes, is responsible for advising the County Board in regards to property tax base issues. This department is only an advisory agency; consequently, it has no policing or enforcement powers. Its primary responsibility by statute is to survey local assessed values, measure local assessment levels, calculate total assessed values for all taxing jurisdictions within the county, and transmit these findings to the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners in the form of the annual Equalization Report.

Formal statutory authority is established by Sec 211.34 (3) of the General Property Tax Act of the State of Michigan, which states:

The county board of commissioners of a county shall establish and maintain a department to survey assessments and assist the board of commissioners in the matter of equalization of assessments, and may employ in that department technical and clerical personnel which in its judgment are considered necessary. The personnel of the department shall be under the direct supervision and control of a director of the tax or equalization department who may designate an employee of the department as his or her deputy. The director of the county tax or equalization department shall be appointed by the county board of commissioners. The county board of commissioners, through the department, may furnish assistance to local assessing officers in the performance of duties imposed upon those officers by this act, including the development and maintenance of accurate property descriptions, the discovery, listing, and valuation of properties for tax purposes, and the development and use of uniform valuation standards and techniques for the assessment of property.

The purpose of equalization is to set the property tax base for the county and helps to ensure that property taxes are levied in a fair and equitable manner.

Each year, under guidelines established by the State Tax Commission, the Equalization Department works with township and city assessors to assure proper equalized values for real and personal property throughout the county.

The Equalization Department’s main purpose is to correct the inequities that may occur between local units of government as a result of under or over assessment of a property class. The Equalization Department does not determine individual assessments, that is the sole responsibility of the local assessor.

The equalization process is accomplished using sales and appraisal studies performed on individual property classes in each township and city throughout the county.

The results of these sales and appraisal studies are used to determine the true cash value of each property class (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, developmental, timber cutover, and personal property). The department’s equalization studies are compared to the corresponding property class totals as determined by the assessor for each township and city. If necessary, the department applies a "County Equalization Factor" to those classes that have an "average level" of assessment above or below 50% of true cash value.

The department is also responsible for calculating all millage rollback fractions required by law (e.g. Headlee, Truth in Assessing, Truth in County Equalization, and Truth in Taxation) for all taxing jurisdictions within Muskegon County (i.e. schools, Muskegon Community College, Muskegon Intermediate Schools, Muskegon County, authorities, townships, villages, and cities), as well as tabulating and monitoring taxable values for each taxing jurisdiction. Additionally, the department identifies real property descriptions for the County Treasurer for delinquent taxes.