MAA President's Message
May/June Message
Dear MAA Members,
Welcome to Spring! As we enter the warmer months Assessors undergo a lot of changes in our work-cycles. From balancing our March Board of Review and quadruple checking our totals for Equalization, to rolling over and commencing work on our 2026 rolls, the opportunities for community outreach and learning continue. We can connect not only amongst ourselves, but with the public as well!
One of the ways our office performs our annual re-inspection cycle is by mailing out Data Verification Questionnaires (DVQs) to our selected 20%. In addition to mailing the DVQs, our appraisers get outside and update our photos and available exterior information on the 20%. We find that we get about 30% of our DVQs back in the mail, and a majority of them allow us to enter their property for measurement verifications. In addition, we communicate with the property owners about discrepancies between what they report and what we’re assessing on their parcel. It’s a great way to engage with our community, educate them about what Assessors do, PLUS we get about 20% more engagement than we do with the old-fashioned door-to-door canvass!
The Board of Directors held our April 21 st meeting earlier this week. There were several important topics to discuss, including the Supreme Court decision for Sixarp, LLC vs. Byron Township, for which the MAA sponsored an Amicus Brief that helped the courts in their decision (see our April meeting packet on the website for the full opinion). We also discussed what we viewed as a successful participation in the 2025 Michigan Townships Association annual conference in Grand Rapids in March! Thank you to all who volunteered to help! Read on for an article from Andy Johnson about the experience.
We were pleased once again to have a live-report from Judge Halm of the Michigan Tax Tribunal, with Chief Clerk Welton in attendance virtually as well. In addition to them we had an in-person report from Jennifer Rigterink from the Michigan Municipal League. It’s really fantastic to be interacting with these other agencies, all of whom have fair and equitable assessing as a forefront of their concerns.
Speaking of building networks, the MAA Conference Committee has determined a theme and a logo! For 2025, the theme is “Bridging Connections”, and the logo will be found elsewhere on promotional materials as they’re developed. The Conference Committee has an on-site committee planning meeting on May 5 th at Mission Point Resort, where we’ll be able to visualize more about what we can do to make this year’s conference an unforgettable success! One thing we’re doing again this year to encourage engagement (and ensure people don’t sleep through their awards) is we’re once again holding an Awards Brunch on Monday during Conference – and to that end, we need your nominations! Nominations for awards are open NOW at this link, and the opportunity to nominate your colleagues will CLOSE July 24, 2025 at 4:30pm, so be sure to get those nominations in so we can celebrate our connections and their successes and contributions.
Lastly, be sure to keep an eye on the MAA website for useful Resources and Educational opportunities! Our committees work hard to keep the website current with the most relevant information for our members.
Thank you all for your continued participation in what is truly a valuable organization. See you in person or virtually at our next meeting on May 19, 2025!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Tobias, President