Village clerks across Michigan will be singing the praises of Senator Kim LaSata now that her legislation making life a bit easier for them has been passed and signed into law.
The bill that would simplify the way villages collect delinquent property taxes was signed by the governor on Thursday.
Prior to the bill’s signing, delinquent property taxes that were owed to general law villages were collected on their behalf by the county in which they are located. If a village wished to collect the delinquent taxes itself, the village had to adopt a resolution each year declaring its intent and informing the county.
LaSata, the bill’s sponsor, says, “Many small villages prefer to collect delinquent property taxes themselves, rather than have the county collect them,” adding, “Unfortunately, to do so, each village had to adopt a resolution each year, which is a tedious process that puts further strain on already small, overworked village staff.”
Senate Bill 350, now Public Act 86 of 2020, eliminates that annual requirement and allows affected villages to simply adopt one resolution that would be in effect indefinitely or until another resolution is adopted revoking it. Any village that intends to collect its own delinquent taxes must also specify on the village tax bill or separate enclosure where the taxes are to be paid.
LaSata notes, “This new law simplifies the delinquent tax collection process for our state’s villages, and I appreciate the governor signing it so quickly.”
