[Amended 11-5-1996]
The city shall have the power to assess taxes and to levy and
collect rents, tolls, and excises. The annual general ad valorem tax
levy for municipal purposes shall not exceed 1 1/4% (12.5 mills)
of the assessed value of all real and personal property in the city.
In addition to such limitation, the city shall have the power to levy
not to exceed 0.10% (one mill) of such taxable value for a dedicated
capital improvement fund for public improvements and not to exceed
175,000 of 1% (1 3/4 mills) of such assessed value for the city's
employee retirement fund.
The power of taxation shall never be surrendered or suspended
by any grant or contract to which the city shall be a party. No exemptions
from taxation shall be allowed, except such as are expressly required
or permitted by law.
Subject to the exceptions provided or permitted by law, the
taxable status of persons and property shall be determined as of the
thirty-first day of December, or such other date as may subsequently
be required by law, which shall be deemed the tax day. Values on the
assessment roll shall be determined according to the facts existing
on the tax day for the year for which such roll is made, and no change
in the status or location of any such property after that day shall
be considered by the Assessor or the Board of Review.
If the Treasurer finds or reasonably believes that any person
who is, or may be, liable for taxes upon personal property, the taxable
situs of which was in the city on tax day, intends to depart or has
departed from the city; or to remove or has removed therefrom personal
property which is, or may be, liable for taxation; or to conceal or
conceals himself or his property; or does any other act tending to
prejudice, or to render wholly or partly ineffectual the proceedings
to collect such tax, he shall proceed to collect the same as a jeopardy
assessment in the manner provided by law.
Prior to the date of the meeting of the Board of Review in each
year, the Assessor shall prepare and certify an assessment roll of
all property in the city. Such roll shall be prepared in accordance
with the requirements of law, and may be divided into volumes, which
the Assessor shall identify by number for purposes of convenience
in handling the assessment roll and for locating properties assessed
therein. The attachment of any certificate or warrant required by
this chapter to any volume of the roll, either as an assessment roll
or as a tax roll, shall constitute the attachment thereof to the entire
roll, provided the several volumes are identified in such certificate
or warrant. Values of property set forth on the assessment roll shall
be determined according to recognized methods of systematic assessment.
(a)
A Board of Review is hereby created, composed of three members who have the qualifications for holding elective city office as set forth in Section 3.2 of this charter and who are owners of property assessed for taxes in the city.
(b)
The members of the Board of Review shall be appointed by the Council,
and may be removed for reasons of nonfeasance or misfeasance by the
vote of six members of the Council. The first members shall be appointed
during the month of January, 1961, for terms expiring on July 1, 1962,
1963, and 1964. Thereafter, one member shall be appointed in the month
of May of each year for a term of three years, commencing on the following
July first.
(c)
The Board shall, annually, on the first day of its meeting, select
one of its members chairman for the ensuing year. The Assessor shall
be Clerk of the Board, and shall be entitled to be heard at its sessions,
but shall have no vote on any proposition or question.
For the purpose of revising and correcting assessments, the
Board of Review shall have the same powers and perform like duties,
in all respects, as are, by law, conferred upon and required of boards
of review in townships, except as otherwise provided in this charter.
At the time, and in the manner provided in the following section,
it shall hear the complaints of all persons considering themselves
aggrieved by assessments. If it shall appear that any person or property
has been wrongfully assessed or omitted from the roll, the Board shall
correct the roll in such manner as it deems just. Except as otherwise
provided by law, no person other than the Board of Review shall make
any change upon, or addition or correction to, the assessment roll.
The Assessor shall make a permanent record of all proceedings of the
Board and enter therein all resolutions and decisions of the Board.
Such record shall be filed with the Clerk on or before the first day
of September following the meeting of the Board of Review.
(a)
The Board of Review shall convene at 9:00 a.m. on the second Monday
in March in each year at a place designated by the Council, or on
such other date as may subsequently be required by law for the meeting
of boards of review in cities, and continue in session from day to
day for not less than six hours on each day for not less than three
days for the purpose of considering the assessment roll of the city.
(b)
Not later than one week prior to his certification of the assessment
roll, the Assessor shall (1) complete to the best of his ability a
tentative assessment roll and make it available for public inspection
in his office for a period of at least one week, and (2) give a notice
of any change, as compared with the previous year, in the assessed
value of any property on, or of the addition of any property to the
roll. Such notice shall be sent by first class mail with postage thereon
fully prepaid and addressed to the owner thereof according to the
records of the Assessor. Such notice shall advise the person to whom
it is addressed that the change in valuation or addition of property
to the roll may be discussed with the Assessor at his office prior
to the meeting of the Board of Review. The failure of any owner of
property to receive any such notice shall not invalidate any assessment
roll or any assessment thereon.
(c)
The Assessor shall, during such period of public inspection, hear
and review inquiries regarding the assessment of property on the assessment
roll and may consider information so received by him in determining
values on the assessment roll certified by him to the Board of Review.
(d)
The Board of Review may examine on oath any person appearing before
it respecting the assessment of property on the assessment roll. Any
member of the Board may administer the oath.
Notice of the time and place of the annual meeting of the Board
of Review shall be published by the Assessor not less than one week
nor more than three weeks prior thereto.
After the Board of Review has completed its review of the assessment roll, and not later than the third Monday in March, or such other date as may subsequently be required by law, the majority of its members shall sign a certificate to the effect that the same is the assessment roll of the city for the year in which it has been prepared, as approved by the Board of Review, which certificate, when attached to any volume of the roll, shall constitute a conclusive presumption of the validity of the entire roll as provided in Section 8.6 of this charter. In the event that the Board of Review shall fail or refuse to so review the assessment roll of the city, such roll, as prepared and presented to the Board of Review by the Assessor shall be the assessment roll for the year for which it was prepared, and shall stand as though it had been certified by the Board of Review.
Upon the completion of the assessment roll, and from and after
midnight ending the last day of the meeting of the Board of Review,
it shall be the assessment roll of the city for county, school, and
city taxes, and for other taxes on real and personal property that
may be authorized by law. It shall be presumed by all courts and tribunals
to be valid, and shall not be set aside, except for cause set forth
by law.
Within three days after the adoption of the budget for the ensuing
year, the Clerk shall certify to the Assessor the total amount which
the Council determines shall be raised, by general ad valorem taxation,
together with such other assessments and lawful charges and amounts
which the Council requires to be assessed, reassessed, or charged
upon the city tax roll against property or persons.
After the Board of Review has completed its review of the assessment
roll, the Assessor shall prepare a tax roll, to be known as the "City
Tax Roll". Upon receiving the certification of the several amounts
to be raised, assessed, and charged for city taxes, as provided in
the preceding section, the Assessor shall proceed forthwith, (1) to
spread the amounts of the general ad valorem tax according to and
in proportion to the several valuations set forth in said assessment
roll, and (2) to place such other assessments and charges upon the
roll as are required and authorized by the Council. For convenience,
the city tax roll may be divided into two or more volumes.
The taxes on real and personal property shall become a debt
to the city from the owner or person otherwise to be assessed, on
the preceding tax day provided by law. The amounts assessed on any
interest in real property shall become a lien upon such real property
on the said tax day, and the lien for such amounts and for all interest
and charges thereon shall continue until payment thereof. All personal
taxes shall also be a first lien, prior, superior, and paramount,
on all personal property of persons so assessed from and after the
said tax day, and shall so remain until paid. Said tax liens on personal
property shall take precedence over all other claims, encumbrances,
and liens upon said personal property whatsoever, whether created
by chattel mortgage, title retaining contract, execution, or upon
any other final process of a court, attachment, replevin, judgment,
or otherwise. No transfer of personal property assessed for taxes
shall operate to divest or destroy such lien, except where such property
is actually sold in the regular course of retail trade.
After spreading the taxes and placing other assessments and
charges upon the roll, the Assessor shall certify the tax roll, and
attach his warrant thereto directing and requiring the Treasurer to
collect, prior to March first of the following year, from the several
persons named in the roll, the several sums mentioned therein opposite
their respective names as a tax, charge, or assessment. Said warrant
shall grant to and vest in the Treasurer, all the statutory powers
and immunities possessed by township treasurers for the collection
of taxes. The tax roll shall be delivered to the Treasurer on or before
the 15th day of July.
City taxes shall be due and payable on August first of each
year.
The Treasurer shall not be required to make personal demand
for the payment of taxes but, upon receipt of the city tax roll, he
shall forthwith mail a tax statement to each person named in the tax
roll, which mailed statement shall be a sufficient demand for the
payment of all taxes assessed. Neither the failure on the part of
the Treasurer to mail such statement, nor the failure of any person
to receive the same, shall invalidate the taxes on the tax roll or
release any person or property assessed from the liabilities provided
in this chapter in case of nonpayment.
The Treasurer shall collect no fees or charges on taxes paid
before the 15th day of September. In all other cases, he shall collect
both the tax and a 4% collection fee.
If any person shall neglect or refuse to pay any tax on personal
property assessed to him, the Treasurer shall collect the same by
seizing any personal property of such person, to an amount sufficient
to pay such tax, together with any charges and interest added thereto,
wherever the same may be found in the State. No property shall be
exempt from such seizure. He may sell the property seized, to an amount
sufficient to pay the taxes and all charges, fees, penalties, and
interest, in accordance with statutory provisions. The Treasurer may
also sue the person to whom a personal property tax is assessed, in
accordance with the powers granted to him by law.
For the purpose of assessing and collecting taxes for state,
county, and school purposes, the city shall be considered the same
as a township, and all provisions of law relative to the collection
of, and accounting for, such taxes and the penalties and interest
thereon shall apply. For the purpose of collecting state, county,
and school taxes, the Treasurer shall perform the same duties and
have the same powers as township treasurers under state law.
The city shall have power, insofar as the exercise thereof shall
not conflict with a contravene the provisions of law, to acquire such
an interest in any premises within the city, by purchase at any tax
or other public sale, or by direct purchase from or negotiation with
the State of Michigan or the owner, as may be necessary to assure
to the city the collection of its taxes, special assessments, charges,
and any interest thereon which are levied against any lot or parcel
of real property or to protect the lien of the city therefor, and
may hold, lease, or sell the same. Any such procedure exercised by
the city to assure the collection of its taxes or the protection of
its tax or other liens shall be deemed to be for a public purpose.
The Council may adopt any ordinance which may be necessary to make
this section effective.
(a)
Taxes, assessments, and charges, together with collection fees and
interest, upon real property on the tax roll, remaining uncollected
by the Treasurer on the first day of March following the date when
the roll was received by him, shall be subject to the following procedures:
(1)
Within 10 days after the time mentioned in his warrant for the
collection of said taxes, the Treasurer shall make a statement of
the taxes remaining unpaid and due, with a full and perfect description
of the premises against which the same were levied, as shown on the
tax roll, and shall attach thereto an affidavit that the sums mentioned
in said statement remain unpaid and that he has been unable to collect
the same;
(2)
The Treasurer shall also, forthwith after making such statement,
transcribe the same into a delinquent tax roll and shall, under the
direction of the Council and in pursuance of the ordinances and resolutions
of the Council, proceed to sell at public sale so much of said lands
so returned on account of the non-payment of taxes, together with
an amount determined by the Council to cover the expenses by such
sale;
(3)
Notice of such sale shall be given by publication in a newspaper
published in the city once in each week for four successive weeks
preceding such sale;
(4)
The Treasurer shall give to the purchaser at such sale a certificate
of sale, describing the land purchased and stating the time when the
purchaser will be entitled to a deed for the same;
(5)
If any parcel of land cannot be sold at such tax sale, the Treasurer
shall bid for the same in the name of the city and shall deliver a
certificate of sale of the same to the Clerk, with like effect in
all respects as though the parcel of land had been sold to a purchaser
at the sale;
(6)
Any person claiming an interest in any land sold at tax sale
by the city may, at any time within one year next succeeding the date
of the sale, redeem such land, or any part thereof or interest therein
claimed by him by paying to the Treasurer the amount for which the
land was sold, or such fraction thereof as shall represent the part
or interest therein claimed by him, with interest thereon at 25% per
annum pro rated for each calendar month or fraction of a month following
the date of the tax sale, but in no case shall the interest be less
than that for the first three months, regardless of the date of redemption,
whereupon the Treasurer shall issue a certificate of redemption for
the land or part or interest thereof, so redeemed;
(7)
Three-fifths of the interest so collected shall be collected
by the Treasurer for and on behalf of the purchaser at the tax sale
and shall be paid to him, and the balance thereof shall be placed
in the general funds of the city;
(8)
Upon the presentation of a certificate of sale for any land
sold at tax sale or any part thereof which has not been redeemed,
after the time for the redemption thereof has expired, the Treasurer
shall execute to the purchaser or his heirs or assigns a conveyance
of the lands therein described, which conveyance shall vest in the
grantee to whom it is given an absolute estate in fee simple, subject
to the claims that the State of Michigan may have thereon.
(b)
Any conveyance given by the Treasurer under authority of this section
shall be prima facie evidence that the proceedings on which it is
based were regular in all respects, according to the provisions of
this chapter, and of the validity of the title granted.
(c)
Upon the showing of satisfactory evidence upon oath, of the payment
of any tax upon real estate for which any land is sold at a city tax
sale, that by mistake or otherwise the land was sold despite the payment
of such tax or for any other irregularity prior to the conveyance
of title thereto, the Treasurer shall cancel the certificate of sale
thereof and, thereupon, the Clerk shall draw an order upon the Treasurer,
countersigned by the Mayor, for the amount paid for such certificate
of sale and no deed or other conveyance of title shall thereafter
be given therefor.
When the city has acquired any interest in property to protect
the city's tax lien thereon, the owner of any interest therein by
fee title, as mortgagee, or as vendor or vendee under a land contract,
shall have the right to purchase the city's interest therein, upon
payment to the city of the amount of money which the city has invested
therein in the form of taxes, special assessments, charges, fees,
penalties, interest, and costs, paid by or accruing to the city to
protect its title in such property, plus interest from the date the
city acquired title thereto at the rate of 6% per annum pro rated
for each calendar month or part thereof. After the lapse of 90 days
after the date that the city acquires title to any such property,
the Council may remove the same from the market by determining that
such property is needed for and should be devoted to public purposes,
naming such purposes, or may sell the same at a price which shall
be not less than the market value, as determined and certified to
the Council by the Assessor.
