The Board of Review of the City of Grosse Pointe Park, Wayne County,
Michigan will be in session in the Municipal Building,
15115 East Jefferson, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan on:

Tuesday March 16, 2010 & Thursday March 18, 2010

HEARINGS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY AND MUST BE SCHEDULED BY MARCH 15, 2010.  CALL (313) 822-4361 TO SCHEDULE.

WRITTEN APPEALS ACCEPTED
NO LATER THAN March 20, 2009.

Tentative state equalization factors:

Commercial property                      1.000

Residential  property                      1.000

Personal property                          1.000

Taxable increase for 2010 is            -0.30 

UNDERSTANDING PROPOSAL A
IN A DECLINING REAL ESTATE market

On March 15, 1994, Michigan voters approved the constitutional amendment proposal a.  proposal a was designed to limit the growth in property taxes by the consumer price index (cpi) until ownership in the property was transferred.

 How it works?

Prior to proposal a, property taxes were based upon state equalized value (SEV) which is equal to 50% of the value of your property. with the implementation of proposal a, property tax bills are now based upon taxable value.  Each year, the assessor must calculate the sev for every property based upon the time frame as outlined by the state tax commission. a property’s taxable status is determined as of December 31, which is called tax day.

 Additionally, each property has a capped value. capped value is calculated by multiplying the prior year’s taxable value, with adjustments for additions and losses, by the cpi as calculated by the state of michigan and cannot increase by more than 5%.  for 2010, the cpi has been calculated at -0.30%.

 TAXABLE VALUE (TV), WHICH PROPERTY TAXES ARE BASED ON, IS DEFINED AS THE LOWER OF STATE EQUALIZED VALUE OR CAPPED VALUE.

GENERALLY SPEAKING, THIS MEANS THAT UNLESS THE CURRENT YEAR SEV IS LESS THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR TAXABLE VALUE MULTIPLIED BY THE CPI, THE CURRENT YEARS TAXABLE VALUE WILL INCREASE BY THE CPI.

The Equalization Timetable

The state tax commission issued guidelines state that single-year sales studies may be considered only when there is significant evidence of a declining market.  A 12 month sales study may be used to determine values for the 2010 assessment cycle.  For 2010 assessments, the normal 24 month sale study begins april 1, 2007 and ends march 31, 2009. the 12 month sales study begins october 1, 2008 and ends september 30, 2009.

Use of a 12 month study allows 2010 assessments to more accurately reflect current market conditions, however, the limited number of current sales also means that there is limited data for the assessor to calculate current assessments. it may be necessary for the assessor to make neighborhood adjustments based on market activity in the surrounding areas.  Without sufficient sales to make proper calculations, you may find that your 2010 assessment may not go down as much as you think it should or at all.

FORECLOSURE SALES

INHERENT IN THE DEFINITION ON USUAL SELLING PRICE IS THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE SALE DOES NOT INVOLVE ANY ELEMENT OF DISTRESS FROM EITHER PARTY.

THE STATE TAX COMMISSION HAS ISSUED GUIDELINES CONCERNING FORECLOSURE SALES AND, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THESE GUIDELINES PRECLUDE THE ASSESSOR FROM CONSIDERING FORECLOSURE SALES WHEN CALCULATING VALUES FOR ASSESSMENT PURPOSES.

FOR THIS REASON, ALL DISTRESSED SALES SUCH AS SALES INVOLVING MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES OR SALES INVOLVING TRANSFERS TO AND FROM RELOCATION COMPANIES, ARE NOT CONSIDERED AS TYPICAL SALES IN THE VALUATION OF PROPERTY FOR ASSESSMENT PURPOSES NOR ARE THEY RELIABLE INDICATORS OF VALUE WHEN MAKING MARKET COMPARISONS FOR CURRENT ASSESSED VALUES OR APPEALS.  

 The law defines true cash value as the “usual” selling price of a property. The legislature and the courts have very clearly stated that the actual selling price of a property is not a controlling factor in the true cash value of state equalized value as calculated by the assessor. For this reason, when analyzing sales for the purpose of determining assessment changes, the assessing office will review all sales but exclude non-representative sales from the assessment analysis.

 Inherent in the definition on usual selling price is the assumption that the sale does not involve any element of disress from either party.  The state tax commission has issued guidelines concerning forreclosure sales and, generally speaking, these guidelines preclude the assessor from considering foreclosure sales when calculating values for assessment purposes.

ACTUAL SALES PRICE IS NOT TRUE CASH VALUE

THE LAW DEFINES TRUE CASH VALUE AS THE “USUAL” SELLING PRICE OF A PROPERTY. THE LEGISLATURE AND THE COURTS HAVE VERY CLEARLY STATED THAT THE ACTUAL SELLING PRICE OF A PROPERTY IS NOT A CONTROLLING FACTOR IN THE TRUE CASH VALUE OF STATE EQUALIZED VALUE AS CALCULATED BY THE ASSESSOR. FOR THIS REASON, WHEN ANALYZING SALES FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING ASSESSMENT CHANGES, THE ASSESSING OFFICE WILL REVIEW ALL SALES BUT EXCLUDE NON-REPRSENTATIVE SALES FROM THE ASSESSMENT ANALYSIS

City of Grosse Pointe Park - 2010
For general information about the city contact us at clerk@grossepointepark.org