The State Equalized Value

SEV) of real estate in Mackinac County increased 5.6 percent last year, reaching $1,233,503,991 in 2006, or $65,533,748 over 2005, according to the equalization report adopted by the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners Thursday, April 13. The total county taxable value for 2006 is $801,024,900, up 5.2 percent, or $39,403,808 from the year before.

The SEV is one-half the market value of private property and includes land and buildings. The taxable value is the valuation capped by Proposal A, which limits the increase in homestead (primary household) property value to inflation, until it is sold or transferred.

Caps placed on property as a result of Proposal A were the focus of County Equalization Director James Fenlon's report to county commissioners during last Thursday's meeting. Mr. Fenlon provided commissioners with information on capped versus uncapped property values because of increased taxpayers' concerns on the issue.

"We've had more complaints about that this year," said Mr. Fenlon.

Each year the gap between SEV and taxable values increases, he explained. If a non-waterfront piece of property in the county were sold or transferred, the new owner would see the property tax bill increase, on average, by 52.76 percent, he told commissioners. If a homeowner sold waterfront property, the new owner would be faced with a property tax bill that would jump by 71.12 percent.

"This is what people are realizing," he said. "They've now started to transfer their property to their family members and their family members can't afford the higher taxes.

"This is the downside of Proposal Athat people didn't realize," he added.

There is a 54 percent gap in the SEV and Taxable Value in the county that has grown since 1994 when Proposal A was passed by Michigan voters, he explained.

The proposal was never designed to protect new buyers, but to keep current homeowners from being taxed off their property as values increased. Without Proposal A, they would already be paying the higher taxes based on the SEV, instead of the Taxable Value.

Clark Township has the highest land value in Mackinac County, with an SEV of $272,655,356. The City of Mackinac Island is next, with an SEV of $261,325,567, followed by Moran Township with $111,683,026, and the City of St. Ignace with $109,709,852.

Other townships, ranked in order of SEV, are Garfield with $104,639,060, Portage with $102,586,875, Newton with $60,482,461, Marquette with $47,420,755, Brevort with $45,067,567, St. Ignace Township with $40,316,499, Bois Blanc with $39,998,108, Hudson with $21,211,143, and Hendricks with $11,407,722.

The SEV in Mackinac County has increased 135 percent in the past 10 years, from $526,110,137 in 1996 to the $1,233,503,991 adopted for this year. Since 1990, when the SEV was only $293,268,114, values have gone up 321 percent.