10 More Days: Detroit Extends Deadline To Appeal Property Tax Assessments

DETROIT (WWJ) - The city of Detroit is extending the deadline for residents to appeal their 2017 proposed property assessments to February 28.

The deadline was originally Feb. 18.

The change is due to the fact that this year's notices went out approximately two weeks later than usual to allow for additional time to ensure that all of the calculations used were accurate, according to Deputy Chief Financial Officer and City Assessor Alvin Horhn.

This is the first time in 60 years the city has issued this noticed based on all of the available market data and Horhn said they wanted to make sure they got it right.

"Because the mailing was delayed, we felt it was fair to extended the Assessor's review period for anyone who has questions or wants to challenge their proposed assessment until the end of the month," Horhn said in a statement. "Additionally, any property owner who still misses the extended Assessor's review period will be able to proceed directly to the March Board of Review to have their case heard at the local level."

Usually, property owners must first go through an assessors review before proceeding to the March Board of Review, Horhn said.

The City of Detroit has 255,000 residential parcels. In January, Mayor Mike Duggan announced that after completing its first citywide parcel-by-parcel reappraisal in 60 years, 94% of residential property owners will see a change of less than 10% (up or down) in their assessed value:
• 53% will see assessment reductions of 10% or less.
• 41% will see assessment increases of 10% or less.
• The remaining 6% of properties will see larger adjustments, due largely to the specific information that was able to be obtained by the parcel-by-parcel review.

Impact on Tax Bills

This year's assessments show that more residential property owners will see lower taxes on average than those who will see an increase, as a result of this year's proposed assessments. Approximately 140,000 will see reductions in their taxes averaging $263, while 112,000 will see increases that average approximately $80. The amounts for each will vary significantly since each property, unlike in past years, was individually assessed.

How to Appeal

The appeal process will continue through February 28 in Room 804 of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

Tax bills will be mailed in June and payments are due by Aug. 31.