Appeal Process

The appeals process is determined through State law. An optional step is to have an informal meeting with the Assessor. Otherwise, property owners are notified yearly in February for that year's assessment. The Assessment Change Notice will include the tentative SEV, tentative taxable value and the dates the Board of Review will meet in March. Before appearing before the Board of Review, it is helpful to review your property card for accurateness. More information is provided under Board of Review.

If the taxpayer disagrees with the Board of Review's decision, the next and highest level of administrative review is the Michigan Tax Tribunal. Information on how to contact the tribunal is printed on the answer that is mailed by the Board of Review. Usually, additional information is necessary to present to the Tribunal. This might include more comparables, sales, differences in property cards that are similar, etc. The Assessor's office can be a great help in locating this information. Sometimes, after reviewing this information with the taxpayer, a settlement can be reached by the Assessor and taxpayer. In this case, the taxpayer's petition with the Tribunal is settled and no meetings with the Tribunal are scheduled. Small Claim hearings for the City of Richmond are usually held in Mt. Clemens and in Lansing for Full Tribunal cases.

The link to the Michigan Tax Tribunal can be found here.