Michigan Public Policy Survey Questions and Data Tables

Thinking about the last two years, have landowners for industrial property in your jurisdiction appealed their tax assessments — either to your jurisdiction’s Board of Review or directly to the Michigan Tax Tribunal? (Among cities and townships)

Thinking about the last two years, have landowners for residential property in your jurisdiction appealed their tax assessments — either to your jurisdiction’s Board of Review or directly to the Michigan Tax Tribunal? (Among cities and townships)

Thinking about the last two years, have landowners for agricultural property in your jurisdiction appealed their tax assessments — either to your jurisdiction’s Board of Review or directly to the Michigan Tax Tribunal? (Among cities and townships)

Thinking about the last two years, have landowners for other classes of real property in your jurisdiction appealed their tax assessments — either to your jurisdiction’s Board of Review or directly to the Michigan Tax Tribunal? (Among cities and townships)

Did any of these landowners appeal a Board of Review determination to the Michigan Tax Tribunal? (Among cities and townships that report having landowners for any class of real property appeal their tax assessments in the last two years)

Thinking about any appeals of a Board of Review determination to the Michigan Tax Tribunal in the last two years, did your jurisdiction respond to any appeal by stipulating/agreeing to the value(s) the landowner stated in their Michigan Tax Tribunal petition? (Among cities and townships that reported having landowners appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal)

Thinking about any appeals of a Board of Review determination to the Michigan Tax Tribunal in the last two years, did your jurisdiction respond to any appeal by stipulating/agreeing to an alternate taxable value with the landowner prior to the Tax Tribunal hearing? (Among cities and townships that reported having landowners appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal)

Thinking about any appeals of a Board of Review determination to the Michigan Tax Tribunal in the last two years, did your jurisdiction respond to any appeal by defending the assessment before the Tax Tribunal? (Among jurisdictions that reported having landowners appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal)

To what extent — if at all — did the cost of legal representation for the appeal impact your decision to stipulate rather than defend the original assessment before the Tax Tribunal? (Among cities and townships that stipulated/agreed to a value with the landowner)

Thinking about property tax appeals that have gone to the Michigan Tax Tribunal from your jurisdiction in the last two years, would you say you are generally satisfied or dissatisfied with the Tax Tribunal’s determination(s)? (Among cities and townships that defended an assessment before the Tax Tribunal)

Overall, how much of a problem — if at all — are property tax appeals for your jurisdiction’s current fiscal health?

In some jurisdictions, retail chains (including “big box” stores) have appealed their property tax assessments claiming their buildings are hard to sell for another use, making the market value significantly lower than construction costs. Recently, the Michigan Tax Tribunal has generally ruled that tax assessments for these properties should be based upon the selling price of comparable vacant “dark stores.” To what extent do you agree or disagree that tax assessments of retail chain stores should be based on comparable vacant “dark stores?”

Some jurisdictions have enacted local ordinances to address “dark stores” appeals (for example, requiring new commercial buildings to be constructed for more general reuse or addressing these issues in terms of deed restrictions). Which of the following best describes the actions — if any — your jurisdiction has taken to minimize the impact of “dark stores” tax appeals?

Do you feel things in the state of Michigan are generally going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten off on the wrong track?

How would you rate the way Rick Snyder is performing his job as Michigan’s governor?

How would you rate the way the Michigan Legislature is performing its job?

Now, thinking about the overall fiscal stress in your jurisdiction today and what you expect it to be down the road — including any future financial obligations it may have — on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the best: perfect fiscal health and 10 is the worst: fiscal crisis, how would you rate your jurisdiction’s overall fiscal stress today?

In your role as a local official, how satisfied are you with the fire services provided in your jurisdiction?

In your role as a local official, how satisfied are you with the state police services provided in your jurisdiction?

In your role as a local official, how satisfied are you with the county sheriff services provided in your jurisdiction?

In your role as a local official, how satisfied are you with the local police services provided in your jurisdiction (if applicable)?

In your role as a local official, how satisfied are you with the ambulance/emergency medical services (EMS) provided in your jurisdiction?

How satisfied do you think the majority of your citizens are with the fire services provided in your jurisdiction?

How satisfied do you think the majority of your citizens are with the state police services provided in your jurisdiction?

How satisfied do you think the majority of your citizens are with the county sheriff services provided in your jurisdiction?