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What are the
Assessor's duties?
The Assessor is charged with several administrative and statutory duties;
however, the primary duty and responsibility is to cause to be assessed all real
property within their jurisdiction except that which is otherwise provided by
law. This would include residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and
multi-residential
classes of property.
Real property is revalued every two years. The effective
date of the assessment is January First of the current year. The assessor
determines a full or partial value of new construction, or improvements
depending upon the state of completion as of January First.
General Misconceptions About the Assessor's Work
The Assessor
does not:
 collect
taxes
calculate
taxes
determine
tax rate
set
policy for the Board of Review The Assessor is concerned with
value, not taxes. Taxing jurisdictions such as schools, cities, and townships,
adopt budgets after public hearings. This determines the tax levy, which is the
rate of taxation required to raise the money budgeted.
The taxes you pay are
proportionate to the value of your property compared to the total value of the
taxing district in which your property is located.
General Information About the Assessor:
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Assessors are appointed to their positions by a Conference Board
consisting of the members of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayors of all
incorporated cities and a member from each school district within the
jurisdiction |
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A city with a population of ten thousand or more may elect to have
their own assessor |
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Assessors are required, by statute, to pass a state examination and
complete a Continuing Education Program consisting of 150 hours of
formal classroom instruction with 90 hours tested and a passing grade of
70% attained. The latter requirement must be met in order for the
assessor to be reappointed to the position every six years |
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The Deputy Assessor also must pass a state examination as well as
successfully complete 90 hours of classroom instruction of which at
least 60 hours are tested |
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The Conference Board approves the assessor's budget and after a
public hearing acts on adoption of same |
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The assessor is limited, by statute, depending upon the value of the
jurisdiction, to a levy limitation for his budget |
Click on one of the following links to learn more
about the office of the assessor:
Market
Value, Tax Levies and Assessed Values
Tax
Credits and Exemptions |
