2023 Assessments & Review

The City of East Lansing's 2023 assessment notices are expected to be received by property owners at the end of February and in the first few days of March. The assessments are also available online now.
 
When assessments are performed correctly, the mass appraisal process employed by assessors yields accurate results. There are times, however, when the mass appraisal process does not result in accurate values for individual properties. With this in mind, an Assessor’s Review is held annually prior to the Board of Review to provide property owners with an opportunity to talk with Assessing Department staff on an informal basis about their assessment.
  
Following the Assessor's Review, the Board of Review convenes in March to review the assessment roll of the city, hear complaints of property owners regarding their assessment, and to correct the roll where it is deemed just. It also convenes a short meeting in July and December for the purpose of making clerical corrections.

2023 Assessor's Review

The Assessor’s Review can be helpful for bringing any errors in the data used to value property or specific issues affecting individual properties to the attention of the Assessing Department. Corrections can then be made without the need for a formal appeal to the Board of Review. It is the goal of the Assessing Department that the information in its records be as accurate as possible and for the values generated from that information to reflect market value as closely as possible.
 
The Assessor’s Review also allows property owners to gain a better understanding of the assessing process in general and how that process was applied to their properties in particular. In the end, some property owners may not agree with the values placed on their properties by the Assessing Department and may appeal to the Board of Review. The 2023 Assessor’s Review is taking place via phone, email and Microsoft Teams.  Property owners who wish to participate in the Assessor’s Review may contact Martha Townsend at (517) 319-6880 or by email at mtownse@cityofeastlansing.com to initiate the review process.

Assessment Process

It is important to the Assessing Department staff that the assessment process be open and transparent to property owners. Property owners are encouraged to take the time to explore how their properties have been assessed. A number of documents related to the process are available for review, including the Clinton County valuation study, Ingham County valuation study, land value study, and economic condition factor study (see links in upper right corner).

Additionally, steps have been taken to allow access to assessing information for individual properties free of charge via the City’s website. This transparency allows property owners, if they choose, to see exactly how their properties have been assessed for 2023.

One Pager Plus: Property Valuation, the Principal Residence Exemption and Property Transfers (PDF)