Scio Township Assessing Office

Our Mission is to provide the property owners and residents of Scio Township with fair and equitable assessments in a manner that complies with the Constitution and Laws of the State of Michigan.

Our Services 

The Assessing Office responsibilities are mandated by State Law.

The Township Assessor is responsible for annually assessing all property, both real & personal, not expressly exempted by law, for ad valorem and tax purposes as required by the Constitution of the State of Michigan.  (MCL 211.10).

The Assessor oversees the preparation and maintenance of an annual assessment roll with the following information:

• Name and address of property owner (real & personal)
• Property legal descriptions and parcel identification numbers
• School district codes
• Property classification
• Assessed, Capped & Taxable Values
• Any adjustments made by the Board of Review, Michigan Tax Tribunal or State Tax Commission
• Proper application of the Principal Residence Exemption or any other type of Exemptions
• Sales and transfers of ownership
• Maintenance of Business Personal Property data

Mass appraisal methods and procedures employed are in compliance with requirements of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and the State Tax Commission's Assessor's Manual.

Maintain & update a record card system

The Assessing Office keeps and maintains a computerized record card system for each property within the Township, maintains historical assessment data, collects and verifies current data by conducting property inspections and review.  Appraisers from the Township may visit your home to verify, collect and update data for our records.

Desired outcome:  To produce an accurate assessment roll using information that has been collected by field inspections, verified and analyzed.

Process Property Transfers

Many properties in the Township are sold or are transferred during the year; Michigan statute MCL 211.27 requires the buyer to file a Property Transfer Affidavit (Form 2766, L-4260) with the Township Assessing Office within 45 days of transfer.  By the filing of a Property Transfer Affidavit, the database of ownership information remains current.  Our office also retrieves data from the Washtenaw County Register of Deeds to further ensure that the ownership data is up to date.

Principal Residence Exemption

The Assessor's Office is responsible for the administration of the Principal Residence Exemption (PRE).  A PRE relieves a homeowner from some of the school operating millage (MCL 211.7cc).  Only one PRE can be claimed in the State of Michigan (i.e., you cannot claim a cabin up north as a Principal Residence also).  A signed Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit (Form 2368) must be provided by the property owner to be eligible for this exemption.  This form in only required to filed one time, typically at closing.

Poverty Exemption

Some residents may qualify for the Poverty Exemption (MCL 211.7u).  The determination of eligibility is outlined in the brochure titled "Policy and Guidelines for the Granting of Poverty Exemptions" found on the Township's website.  The household income used in determining eligibility are derived from the federally approved income guidelines, published by the State Tax Commission.  An asset level test is also performed to determine eligibility for the exemption.  If you believe you qualify, contact the Assessor's Office and an exemption packet will be made available to you.

Disabled Veteran's Exemption

MCL 211.7b provides an exemption of property taxes to those Veteran's whose real property is used & owned as a homestead by a disabled veteran who as discharged from the armed forces of the United States under honorable conditions.  The determination of eligibility is determined by:

1. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled as a result of military service and entitled to veteran's benefits at the 100% rate.
2. Has a certificate from the United States Veteran's Administration certifying that he or she is receiving or has received pecuniary assistance due to disability for specifically adapted housing
3. Has been rated by the United States Department of Veteran's Affairs as individually unemployable.

If you believe you qualify, please contact the Assessing Office and we will provide you with Application form 5107.

Property Classification

Michigan Statute MCL 211.34c requires that not later than the first Monday in March of each year, the local Assessor shall classify all assessable property within their jurisdictional boundaries.

Examples of property classification are:

• Residential Improved & Residential Vacant
• Commercial Improved, Commercial Vacant, Commercial Personal
• Industrial Improved, Industrial Vacant, Industrial Personal
• Agricultural Improved & Agricultural Vacant
• Utility Personal

The classification of property is determined by the property's current use.  For example, if an office building is used as offices and does not "build" anything, it would be "Commercial Improved".  A warehouse property is considered "Industrial Improved".  Likewise, a home is "Residential Improved".  The Vacant designation is, of course, vacant land with no improvement.

Should you disagree with the Property Classification of your property, the appeal process would be through the March Board of Review only.

Business Personal Property

Business Personal Property is defined as anything that is not assessable as real property and not exempted by law (MCL 211.8).  It basically is the tangible assets of a business (office furniture, computers, machinery & equipment to name a few).

Business owners are required to annually file Form 632, the Personal Property Statement.  A Small Business Exemption (MCL 211.9o) exists for those businesses whose tangible assets fall below a threshold of $80,000 True Cash Value, by filing Form 5076.  For personal property valued at $80,000 TCV or more but less than $180,000 TCV, the small business taxpayer claimants must file Form 5076 AND Form 632.

Another available exemption available to businesses is the Eligible Manufacturing Personal Property (EMPP), as defined in MCL 211.9m and 211.9n.  Generally, personal property EMPP is the predominant use of all personal property on an occupied real parcel used for industrial processing or direct integrated support.  Those businesses would file Form 5278.

All personal property statements are confidential according to MCL 211.23 and will only be used for the administration of property taxes.  If a personal property statement is not timely filed, the Assessor is required by MCL 211.22 to estimate the assessment.

Personal property statements and forms are required to be filed by February 20th.  Postmarks are acceptable.

Annual Change of Assessment Notices

This notice provides a means for taxpayers to review their assessed & taxable values for accuracy, check mathematical calculations, transfer of ownership information, principal residence exemption percentage and property classification.  If there are concerns or questions relating to the assessment notice information, the Assessor's Office strongly encourages the taxpayer to call the Assessor's Office to discuss the issue.

Other pertinent information on the assessment notice would be the dates and times of the March Board of Review.  This would be the only time during the year for which the taxpayer can file an appeal of their current year's assessed value or property classification.

March Board of Review and the appeal process

The March Board of Review is held beginning the second Monday in March and must meet for a total of 12 hours, with 3 of those hours held after 6 p.m. (MCL 211.30).  More hours can be added if necessary.

The Board of Review members are a group of three Township residents.  The members are appointed for the purpose of hearing and deciding property valuation and classification issues.  The Assessor will deliver the assessment roll to the Board of Review on the Tuesday following the first Monday in March (MCL 211.29).

All residential property valuation appeals MUST first be initiated by a Petition filed with the March Board of Review.  Filing a Petition with the local March Board of Review protects your rights to further appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

At the close of the March Board of Review, the Assessing Office will send letters to Petitioners informing them of the Board of Review's decision.

The Michigan Tax Tribunal filing deadline for Residential & Agricultural property is July 31st of the assessment year.  For Commercial, Industrial and Utility Real & Utility Personal Property appeals the filing deadline is May 31st.  Commercial, Industrial & Utility Real & Utility Personal Property properties can file directly to the Tribunal and do not require a Petition to be filed initially with the local March Board of Review.

Michigan Tax Tribunal/State Tax Commission appeals

The Township Assessor is required to represent the township for any Michigan Tax Tribunal, Small Claims or State Tax Commission appeal.  Our procedure for managing appeals is to individually evaluate each parcel and prepare a valuation disclosure.  Appeals require a significant amount of preparation, and in the case of a full Tribunal appeal, a significant expense.  Petitions must be formally answered, interrogatories submitted, motions filed and if necessary, the support of legal counsel may be requested, especially if an appeal proceeds to a formal hearing.

Conduct property inspections

The State of Michigan recommends that Assessing Offices annually review 20% of all parcels.  Property inspections include, but are not limited to, measuring the improvements and recording specific amenities such as quality of construction, built-ins, room count and finished areas.  Data collection includes recording the year built, year remodeled, square footage and an observation of the land.

Throughout the year numerous physical inspections of properties are conducted.  Information is verified on properties that have sold, properties with new construction are visited, rental income and expense information is collected in addition to any other data that may have an impact on property value.

Create Annual Sales Studies

The Assessing Department conducts sales studies each year, reviewing all sales using only valid sales data.  Other sales data is provided by the County Equalization Department.  The two departments work together to determine a sales ratio which is the "starting point" in evaluating property values.

The sales analysis is conducted each year using two years of sale data.  By using a two-year sales period to collect data, the assessment better reflects the current market.  Sales are grouped together using specific criteria such as school district, location, neighborhood, property type, etc.  Smaller groups of similar properties are further analyzed, and economic condition determinations are made based on the sales data.

Create Land Studies and Maps

• Review and map property sale information
• Provide a uniform estimate of value for every parcel
• Ensure accuracy of land division and combinations

Develop Economic Condition Factors

The purpose of an Economic Condition Factor is to adjust the indication of value obtained via the cost approach (defined as a valuation technique in which the appraiser values a property by summing up constructions costs and the land value and then deducting depreciation from the result) to local market conditions.  For structures, an ECF converts the cost new less depreciation from the use of the Michigan Assessor's Manual to a true cash value estimate in a local market area.

Information concerning a neighborhood's ECF and the sales used to determine the ECF can be found on the Township's website.

Provide assistance to Taxpayers

The Assessing Office is open daily, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to provide information and assistance with assessing issues.  Inquiries can be made at all times using the Scio Township Assessing office website.  The Assessing Office can be contacted at 734-369-9400 or by sending an e-mail to assessing@sciotownship.org.  Every effort will be made to reply to your inquiry within 48-72 hours.