By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK — It was a case of good news and bad news when City Assessor Paula Grivens-Jastifer presented her annual report on the city’s property values Jan. 22
Property values fell 3 percent from 2012 to 2013, she said, but when compared to drops of 11, 8, and 12 percent in the past three years respectively, the figure is a positive sign for the city, she said.
“The decline in values is slowing and halting,” Grivens-Jastifer said. “In some residential neighborhoods we are even seeing an increase.”
Dropping taxable values has been an ongoing issue for the city, and the decline in that revenue coupled with the burden placed on its general fund by the former movie studio property has been widely attributed as the cause of the financial situation that led Gov. Rick Snyder to appoint Joyce Parker as the city’s emergency financial manager in October.
She said a slight increase was visible in the southern part of the city, while the commercial class dropped 2.3 percent from last year.
Those who wish to appeal their property assessments can do so by setting up an appointment with the assessor’s office from March 11 to 14. Assessments are to be mailed out the second week of February.
It was the last City Council meeting for Grivens-Jastifer, who resigned to accept a job in Grand Rapids effective Jan. 25. A full-time deputy assessor was hired the week before her departure and Emergency Financial Manager Joyce Parker said she is considering contracting assessing duties out of the city.
The assessor would then work with the newly hired deputy assessor, handling scheduling and other technical duties while the assessor firm handled assessment hearings.