Overview

The Board of Review is comprised of three township residents appointed by the Board of Trustees.  The Board of Review is subject to the Open Meetings Act. 

The purpose of the Board of Review is to review the assessment roll as prepared by the Assessor; hear appeals of individual property assessments; hear requests of poverty exemptions & classification changes; meet to correct errors or mutual mistake of facts found in the assessment roll.

Board of Review members make their determinations based upon the evidence presented to them at the Board of Review hearing on a case-by-case basis.  Decisions made by the Board of Review may appeal further to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

Board of Review meetings are held at the Scio Township Hall, 827 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI  48103 in the front office conference room.  Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the Assessor at least 3 business days prior to the meeting at 734-369-9400 or assessing@sciotownshipmi.gov

2026 Meeting Schedule

March Board of Review

Organizational Meeting:

Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 10 a.m. to adjournment.

The purpose of the Organizational Meeting is for the Board of Review to “get organized”.  They will elect a chairperson, discuss how they are going to conduct business, review any statutory or policy changes and receive any briefings from the Assessor regarding the assessment roll.  The Board of Review will not hear appeals or make changes to the roll at this meeting.  This meeting is open to the public.

Appeal Hearings:

Monday, March 9, 2026, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10, 2026,  2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Appearances before the Board of Review are by appointment and are in 10-minute increments.  When you call to schedule your appointment, the appropriate appeal forms will be provided to you.  It is strongly encouraged to schedule an appointment, although walk-ins are welcome.  Written appeals must be received in the office by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

The March Board of Review is the only opportunity for property owners to appeal their 2026 assessment.  They cannot hear appeals for prior assessment years.  For residential property owners, you must appeal first to the local Board of Review, before you file to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.  After the adjournment of the Board of Review, decisions will be mailed within one to two weeks.  This notification will provide you with information for further appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

July Board of Review

Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. to adjournment

December Board of Review

Tuesday, December 15, 2026, at 10 a.m. to adjournment

The authority for July & December Board of Review action is stated in MCL 211.53b:

To hear Poverty Exemptions for the current year that were not denied by an earlier Board of Review in that same year.

May correct qualified errors for the current year plus the immediately preceding year that have been previously verified by the Assessor.  Qualified errors are defined in MCL 211.53b(6).

The July & December Boards of Review have no authority to hear current year assessment appeals.  

How Assessments are Determined

Assessed Value (AV):

The assessor is statutorily required to set an AV equal to 50% of market value to all properties in the Township.

State Equalized Value (SEV):

SEV is the AV adjusted following county and state equalization.  County Boards of Commissioners and the Michigan State Tax Commission must review assessments by property classification and adjust (i.e., equalize) them to determine if they are above or below the statutory 50% level of assessment. Typically, SEV is the same as AV.

Taxable Value (TV):

TV is the figure which is used to calculate your taxes.  Multiplying the TV by the millage rate, then dividing by 1,000 will determine your tax liability.  TV can increase from year to year up to the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower.  Transfers of ownership which occurred the previous year, which “uncapped” the TV, and improvements to the property can increase the TV more than the rate of inflation.  TV cannot exceed the SEV for the property.

How is the AV determined?

To ensure properties are assessed uniformly and at 50% of market value, County Equalization Departments conduct sales and appraisal studies each year.  These studies analyze the sale or appraised value of properties compared to the AV.  Based on these studies, the assessor must increase or decrease values so that each class of property (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, etc.) is at 50% of market value.  For residential properties for the 2026 assessments, the sales studies included sales dated from April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2025.

Residential sales information is then organized by economic neighborhoods by the assessor.  For residential properties, an economic neighborhood can be a single subdivision or a grouping of homes in various neighborhoods with similar characteristics.  If the sales in an economic neighborhood indicated an increase or a decrease in value, the AV of properties in that neighborhood are adjusted uniformly with the proper economic condition factor (ECF) based on conclusions drawn from the sales.

A similar method is used to value commercial, industrial and agricultural properties; some commercial properties are valued using the income approach.   Personal property is assessed using property statements reporting the assets of a business.  December 31, 2025, is the status day (i.e., “Tax Day”) for property taxes in Michigan for 2026 assessments.  All AV are calculated as of Tax Day, December 31.

Property Assessment Appeals

The State of Michigan established the appeal process to assure that the property tax system would function in an equitable fashion.  It is the taxpayers’ right to take advantage of this process.

What is a valid basis for appeal?

Claiming that your property taxes are too high and continue to go up is not a valid basis for appeal.  Remember that the taxable value may increase each year based on the Inflation Rate Multiplier or 5%, whichever is less.  To see a reduction in taxes, the assessed value (SEV) must decrease to less than the level of your current taxable value.

To have a good basis for appeal you need to provide evidence which indicates the assessed value is more than 50% of True Cash Value.  This requires some research and fact finding on your part.  Listed below are some helpful tips for making an effective valuation appeal:

• Review your property information contained on your property record card.  Verify the square footage, number of bathrooms, garage, heating/cooling system, finished basement, as well as lot size.  All can be found on our website, or you can contact the Assessing office directly and speak with a staff person.

• Review sales in your neighborhood.  Sale information, sorted by ECF neighborhood, is available on our website under Community > Assessing > Assessing Studies > 2026 > Residential ECF Study.  Submit a list of three or four sales that are comparable to your property.

• Submit a recent appraisal report if you have one.

• If there is significant physical obsolescence that has not yet been fixed, bring photos and bids from contractors indicating how much it would cost to fix.

• Do be sure to check your Principal Residence status.

• Short sales, bank owned or relocation sales, and sales between related parties are typically not considered good evidence of market value.

• Your sale price is not the presumptive true cash value of your property.  All sales in a neighborhood area are analyzed to estimate “usual selling price”.

• Do not compare your taxes to your neighbors.  Your assessment should be comparable to similar properties in your neighborhood.  Your assessed/state equalized value is approximately half of the estimated true cash value or market value.  Your taxable value is determined by multiplying last year’s taxable value by the current year’s inflation rate multiplier and adjusting for construction additions and losses (demolitions).  Depending on when the taxable value was last uncapped after a transfer of ownership, the taxable value could vary from property to property even if the assessed value is the same.

• The calculation of the Inflation Rate Multiplier is set in statute per MCL 211.34d.  The Assessor or Board of Review have no jurisdiction over the calculation of the multiplier.  It cannot be appealed.

• The Assessor must use sales data for the two-year period between April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025, for the calculation of the 2026 assessments.

• At your Board of Review appointment, please focus your comments on the value of your property as of December 31, 2025.