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COUNTY EQUALIZATION.

During the period covered by this report the Board has reviewed, under provisions of Act 201, Public Acts of 1913, the equalization of assessed valuations made by Boards of Supervisors in thirteen counties. The counties from which appeals were made and the dates on which hearings were held were as follows:

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REVIEWS.

The part of the work of the Board of State Tax Commissioners with which the public is probably most familiar, and which most directly affects the individual property owner, is the review by the Board of assessments made by the local assessing officers and boards of review.

Under the provisions of Section 152 of the General Tax Law, as amended, the Board may, upon the petition of a taxpayer, or upon its own motion, review the assessment of any property subject to taxation under the provisions of that law. It may review the assessment of a single piece of property or of all the property in a given assessing district. The review of assessments, therefore, is divided into two classes: special and general. The law requires that before a review may be held the Board must issue a formal order summoning the assessing officer to appear at a certain time and place with his assessment roll, and a copy of the order must be published in a newspaper in the county in which the property to be reviewed is situated at least five days prior to the date of the hearing. A copy of the order must be served upon the assessing officer, and a notice of the time and place of the hearing mailed to each person, firm or corporation whose assessment is to be considered. When upon investigating a complaint it is found that it is possible to correct an injustice by reviewing the assessment of a single piece of property, or of a few pieces only, a special review is ordered, and the name of the owner of each piece of property to be reviewed is mentioned in the order; but when it is found that the assessments are in such condition that the injustice and inequality cannot be corrected except by a complete reassessment of the township or city, a general review is ordered, and the order states that the assessment of all property, both real estate and personal, will be considered. Before a general review is held, the examiners employed by the Board make a thorough examination of and appraise every piece of real estate in the assessing district to be reviewed, and complete field books are prepared containing all information obtainable regarding each parcel. The personal property subject to assessment is also carefully investigated and this information added to the field books. At the hearing held for the purpose of reviewing the assessment, the field books are opened to the public and every property owner is given an opportunity to ascertain the value placed upon his property, as well as that of his neighbor. If, after ascertaining the value placed upon his property, the owner believes the estimate of the examiner is above its true cash value, he is given a hearing by the member or members of the Board conducting the review, and all the information thus given is carefully considered before the valuation is finally entered upon the assessment roll. In many cases another inspection of the property is made, but in the majority of instances the information obtained from the owner is sufficient to enable the members of the Board to determine if any error has been made by the examiner. In each assessment roll a column is provided for the Board of State Tax Commissioners to enter the true cash value of the property, the assessment of which is reviewed by it; and in the column, after the hearings are closed and the information obtained has been fully and carefully considered, the valuations shown in

the field books, after the necessary corrections have been made, are entered. The valuations thus entered on the rolls become the assessed valuations of the several items of taxable property.

After an assessment has been reviewed by the Board of State Tax Commissioners, it cannot be reduced for a period of three years unless there has been a change in the condition of the property. The constitutionality of this feature of the law has been sustained by the Supreme Court.

During the period covered by this report special reviews were held as follows:

Eaton Rapids, Eaton County, June 9 and Sept. 29, 1915;
Big Rapids, Mecosta county, June 16, 1915;

Muskegon, Muskegon county, September 7, 1915;
Bessemer, Gogebic county, September 30, 1915;
Marquette, Marquette county, October 2, 1915;
Three Rivers, St. Joseph county, October 5, 1915;
Mio, Oscoda county, October 8, 1915;

Deerfield, Lenawee county, October 9, 1915;
Houghton, Houghton county, November 3, 1915;
Lake City, Missaukee county, November 9, 1915;
Onaway, Presque Isle county, November 13, 1915.
L'Anse, Baraga county, October 18, 1916.
Marshall, Calhoun county, October 13, 1916;

Bessemer, Gogebic county, September 28, 1916;
Houghton, Houghton county, September 29, 1916;
Ionia, Ionia county, October 11, 1916;
Cassopolis, Cass county, October 13, 1916;

The following tables show the results of general reviews held during the past two years. In many townships and cities, it will be observed that through co-operation between the Board and assessing officers, assessments so closely approximated the legal requirement that reviews were not necessary.

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Property in the following townships having been assessed by the local assessing officers at approximate cash value no reviews were held:

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Property in the following city having been assessed by the local assessing officers at approximate cash value, no reviews were held:

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