Assessor

and

Board of Review

 

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Assessor -  Bill Kays  

Email: scassessor@sisterlakescable.com

 

Office Hours: Tues & Thurs 9am-12N
Other days by appointment, call 269-424-3025, ext 2.

 

Email and voicemail are checked daily

cell: 269-621-5226

 

Here are the links for property related questions and Board of Review forms.

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Board of Review

Bernard Herold, Jr

Patty Bartley

Larry Hewitt
Wendy Fitzgerald-Alternate

Supervisor Bill Saunders - Secretary

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Board of Review meets in March, July and December

     Meetings posted on our township home page

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What is the Board of Review?

The Board of Review (BOR) is a local committee of 3 electors from within our community and they serve a 2 year term to hear taxpayer appeals of the annual assessment roll. The Michigan State Tax Commission has stated, “A Board of Review is not the assessor and the assessor is not the Board of Review. Every citizen who appears before the Board of Review is in fact challenging a decision of the assessor and it is the Board of Review’s responsibility to make an independent judgment based on the facts and on law.” Every property owner should therefore review their annual Notice of Assessment, Taxable Valuation and Property Classification for the exact dates and times of their local Board of Review. A property owner may also contact their local assessor for the same information.

 

As defined in the General Property Tax Act and explained by the State Tax Commission, a property owner may appeal certain items to the Board of Review, in general:

Valuation appeals - March

Qualified Ag denials and principal residence exemptions - July or December.

Hardship/poverty appeals may only be made once in a calendar year, any of the March, July or December sessions may hear such issues.

 

Appeals to the local BOR are designed so the average person may accomplish it. The property owner contacts the assessor or township supervisor to obtain an appointment. Usually appointments are 10-15 minutes during which the person can address the BOR and explain why they believe the assessment is incorrect. The person should present some type of evidence to support their case, such as: recent appraisals by a licensed appraiser, known sales of comparable properties in the local real estate market. A property owner may have their attorney or some other person represent them, but such representation is the person’s choice and certainly not a requirement or expectation.

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A short time after the adjournment of the local BOR, the assessing office will forward a written copy of the Board of Review’s decision. Whatever the decision of the BOR, if the property owner is not satisfied, the decision form will provide information on further appeal rights to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

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The board of review has the authority to do the following:

Change the assessed value of a parcel,

Change the tentative taxable value,

Change the classification,

Grant or deny a hardship or poverty exemption,

Change qualified agricultural property,

Grant exempt status for non-profit organizations or certain religious or charitable properties,

Override the decision of the assessor on a homestead exemption, and

Change clerical errors, mutual mistakes of fact and items such as addresses, descriptions or name misspellings on an assessment roll.

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Board of Review Responsibilities
The Board of Review shall approve or deny the request for the poverty exemption. The Board of Review is required to follow the policy and guidelines adopted by the local assessing unit in granting or denying a poverty exemption. The Board of Review is not permitted to deviate from the adopted policy and guidelines.
Poverty exemption applications can be heard at the March, July, or December Board of Review. However, there can only be one Board of Review decision for a specific calendar year; a subsequent Board of Review cannot reconsider a decision already made that year. For example: if an application is denied at the March Board of Review, it may not be reheard by the July or December Board of Review during the same calendar year. The taxpayer must file an appeal of the March Board of Review decision to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.
As a reminder, a person who files a claim for the poverty exemption is not prohibited from also appealing the assessment on the same property in the same year.


Appeal Rights
An appeal of a decision of the March Board of Review is made by completing and submitting a petition to the Michigan Tax Tribunal no later than July 31 of the same year. A decision of the July or December Board of Review may be appealed by completing and submitting a petition to the Michigan Tax Tribunal within 35 days of the July or December Board of Review’s decision. More information on how to file an appeal is available by contacting the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Information can also be viewed on the Michigan Tax Tribunal’s website at https://www.michigan.gov/taxtribunal.

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