Assessing
The City’s Assessor’s Office is responsible for identifying, listing, and valuing all taxable real and personal property located within the City in accordance with Michigan’s General Property Tax Act.
The Assessing Department ensures that property assessments are uniform and equitable and that they comply with the laws of the State of Michigan. The department maintains property record cards, parcel maps, legal descriptions, and ownership records for all parcels located in Berkley.
We are committed to providing accurate and transparent information to property owners and the general public, and we are here to assist with questions related to property values, exemptions, and ownership information.
Ever wondered how your property taxes are calculated? For more information, check the Oakland County website.
Assessing Contact Info
Assessing FAQ
See below the FAQ for Assessing. If you have any questions or concerns, call us at 248.658.3360 or email us at treasury@berkleymi.gov
Property Assessment notices are mailed to all homeowners in February. Our Michigan property tax system can be very confusing, and the notice includes a lot of information indicating changes in the assessed value and taxable value of your property. These numbers give you an idea of how much your property could sell for and how much of that value you will pay taxes on, which Proposal A caps at the year’s inflation rate or 5%, whichever is lower. If there has been a change of ownership in the past year, the taxable value resets, becoming “uncapped” and the same as the assessed value shown in the table. However, next year, the cap will go back on and the taxable value will only increase as described above.
This year’s inflation rate was higher than anticipated, so it helped increase property tax value (your assessed value, not taxable). If the assessed value of your home increased higher than inflation, that’s great news because it means that your home could sell for more! As inflation increases across industries, the City of Berkley is not immune to rising costs for things like construction projects and contracted services. Any additional revenue from increased property tax payments will help minimize required reductions to balance our budget as the City works to continue to provide existing services without further reductions.
If you have a question about your assessment notice, we encourage you to contact Enrique Benskey, our assessing representative from Oakland County. You can call them at 248-858-2390, or email benskeye@oakgov.com. If you disagree with the information on your notice, you have opportunities to appeal your assessment to the Board of Review which meets every March at City Hall.
The purpose of a Board of Review meeting is to act on changes in state equalized value and taxable value which were the result of:
- Value appeals - March only
- Clerical errors - July and December
- Poverty appeals - March, July, and December
- Michigan Tax Tribunal decisions - March, July, or December
To obtain a Poverty Exemption you must first complete and return personal financial data forms. These forms are available from the City of Berkley Treasurer's office.