HESSEL & CEDARVILLE
As a taxpayer in the Township of Clark, you are concerned about paying only your fair share of taxes for services received. In the Assessor’s office, we are responsible for estimating the market value of every property in the Township. As we estimate the value of your property, we also make every effort to assure that your assessment is equitable to similar properties. Please feel free to contact the Assessor’s Office if you need assistance.
The Assessor is responsible for the overall direction and management of the Township’s property appraisal program. Oversees the identification, does the inventory, determines the market value, and calculates the assessed valuation for all Township properties in accordance with the State Tax Commission regulations, methodology, and procedures to ensure fair and equitable assessments. Maintains accurate Homestead and property transfer information in compliance with applicable State laws.
Every year, the True Cash Value of each taxable property within the township is determined. Every taxable property is assessed at 50% of the True Cash Value. In February of each year, The Assessing Department mails property owners a Notice of Assessment.
Public Act 660 of 2018, was approved by Governor Snyder on December 28, 2018, and amended the General Property Tax Act to provide a statutory framework to ensure proper assessing in order to guarantee the highest quality assessments for taxpayers as well as local units. The Property Assessing Reform Act defines the requirements for substantial compliance with the General Property Tax Act, provides timelines for audits and follow-up audits, and details a process for bringing a local unit into compliance if they remain non-compliant after a follow-up review.
PA 660 contains several requirements in statute (MCL 211.10g (1)) that local units and assessors must follow. Local units are required to ensure that all requirements are being met beginning in the 2022 tax year. Subject to state tax commission guidelines the local unit is required to publish a policy under which its assessor’s office is reasonably accessible to taxpayers.
You can view your property and tax information online with BS&A Online.
BS&A Online is a collection of municipal services that provides instant and convenient access to various kinds of important information held at your local government. Users can look up information regarding Property Taxes, Special Assessments, Sales, and Building data including sketches & photos.
Users of the website need to create a personalized account to allow you free access to any property records with which you are associated. There is a small convenience fee to look up property information with which the person requesting the information is not the owner.
If a person’s financial situation prevents them from being able to pay the property taxes on his/her home there may be a way to reduce the amount of property taxes the taxpayer must contribute.
MCL 211.7u of the General Property Tax Act, MCL 211.1 et seq., allows a property tax exemption for the principal residence of persons who, in the judgment of the board of review, by reason of poverty, are unable to contribute to the public charges.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the poverty exemption, a person must:
The necessary forms to apply for a poverty exemption can be obtained from the Assessor’s Office contact assessor@clarktwpmi.gov or call 906-484-2672 or by clicking on the button below.
The Board of Review in the Clark Township consists of three (3) residents appointed by the Township Board. The Board of Review meets on statutory dates in March, July, and December. The board is empowered to consider appeals related to specific areas such as poverty exemptions.
What is an economic condition factor?
An Economic Condition Factor (ECF) adjusts the assessor’s use of the state mandated cost manual to the local market. The State Tax Commission Assessor’s Manual provides costs in which property characteristics are costed out. County multipliers are provided by the State Tax Commission and adjusted annually to reflect changes in the market of construction costs found in the Assessors Manual bringing the costs to the County level. ECF’s are then analyzed annually and adjusted by the assessor to further improve these costs to our local market.
An ECF is calculated by analyzing verified property sales. The ECF represents the relationship between the appraised value of the building as calculated using the Assessor’s Manual and the sale value of that building. The portion of each sale price attributed to the building(s) on the parcel is compared to the value on the record card of the same building(s). [1] These studies are used to determine if property values are increasing or decreasing in that neighborhood market.
Sale Price – Land & Land Improvements = Building Value
Building Value / RCND (reproduction cost new minus depreciation of improvements) = ECF
The calculated ECF is then applied to the neighborhood market. Please note that an ECF is applied only to the building improvements of the property.
Clark Township Assessing Department reviews a portion of properties in the Township annually to keep records current and accurate, in accordance with State of Michigan Guidelines.
Geographic Information System (GIS) is a technology used for the storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of geographic information. This information includes features or places within the township that have a component, which can be displayed by a simple geometric representation, such as parcels, roads, or natural features including bodies of water.
Application Use and Mapping Disclaimer
Application Use:
This data is provided as-is; without warranty whatsoever, the entire risk as to the results of the use of this data is assumed by the user. Clark Township, Michigan is not responsible for any interpretation or conclusions based on this data by those who acquire or use it. It is to be used for information purposes only.
(AV) equals half of the usual selling price (also referred to as the “True Cash Value”. The Michigan Constitution requires that Assessed Value shall not exceed 50% of the market value or true cash value of the property.
Taxable Value is used for the calculation of property taxes. It equals the lesser of the Assessed Value or the Capped Value.
The Taxable Value on a property is said to be “capped” if the property owner did not purchase it in the preceding year. By State Law, when a property is sold or otherwise transferred, the Taxable Value in the year following the transfer, will be made equal to the Assessed Value and thus is said to be “uncapped” for the year. After the uncapping, the Taxable Value is capped for future years until there is another change of ownership.
The answer is that it is against the law. MCL 211.27 states that the purchase price is no longer the presumptive True Case Value of a property. The assessment may be close to half of the purchase price but the property assessment is determined by investigating the other sales in the vicinity of the property. All of the assessment in the vicinity of the property is set using a sales study.
Another reason may be that we simply do not have correct information on your property. For example, if the house was unlivable at the time of purchase, we may not know that. Also, check your record card. This can be done in 2 ways; one, you can check the information using our online property and tax information, or contact our office either in person or by phone.
By law, the only time you may appeal your assessment is at the March Board of Review. The dates and times are on your assessment notice and on our website. After you receive your Change of Assessment in February, you may contact the Assessor’s office at 906-484-2672 to schedule an appointment, or you may send a letter of appeal, including the Michigan Department of Treasury Form L-4035, Petition to Board of Review, which you can get from our office.
An appeal is not a complaint about higher taxes. It is your opportunity to prove that your property’s estimated market value is either inaccurate or unfair. You will be most successful when you can prove at least one of three things:
State law provides the next level of appeal at the Michigan Tax Tribunal. A letter of appeal on residential property must be sent to the Tribunal (P.O. Box 30232, Lansing, MI 48909) by July 31st following an appeal to/at the March Board of Review.
To ensure proper billing of taxes and required notices we encourage you to notify us of any name changes, mailing address changes or business changes. You can change your address by mailing us a request to do so.
General property Tax Act
21.27 “True Cash Value” Definition
FYI – Upon purchasing or a transfer of property – use the below property tax estimator – for a more accurate indication of property taxes, enter the current assessed value (S.E.V.) or 50% of Sale Price, instead of taxable value.
Use the link below, from the State of Michigan, to assist you in estimating your future tax payment.
State of Michigan Tax Payment Estimator
ASSESSOR
Jessica A. Mowery
email: assessor@clarktwpmi.gov
office hours: Wed & Thu, 9:00AM – 1:00PM
phone: 906-484-2672