For the third year in a row, many Detroiters will see another reduction in the assessed values of their homes, according to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and other city officials.
“Now that we’ve got three years of double digit assessment cuts, it’s equivalent of getting a double digit tax cut,” he said.
This all comes after a review conducted by the chief assessor and his team.
The mayor says about 95 percent of the city’s 220,000 residential properties will see a reduction of any where from five to 15 percent.
“For the first time in like 50 years, we invested in a door to door survey to appraise and do assessments on homes and that’s huge,” said Detroit City Councilman Gabe Leland.
“I like it because it’s reducing property taxes and it is going to give relief to a lot of citizens in this city and it’s something that is long overdue,” said Morningside neighborhood resident, Jackie Grant.
While commercial properties could see a small increase in assessments, it is a win for residents like Grant and Karen Johnson Moore who are looking to see more people move into their Detroit neighborhoods.
“An added benefit obviously, so we can use that when we have our open house in May,” she said. “It’s going to be a wonderful incentive for us to be able to tell people you’re going to get a lot of bang for your buck. Our homes are valuable.”
According to the Duggan, the lower assessments have caused 75 percent of taxpayers to pay their taxes.
City representatives revealed the move is just the fist step in reforming the city’s property assessment and taxation process.
The city sent notices to every city homeowner about their new assessment.
If residents want to appeal their assessment, they can do that at the Coleman A Young Municipal Center until Feb. 15.
