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Walled Lake council rejects Oakland County assessment increase, contracts with private assessor
Summary
After sharp debate and criticism of Oakland County's late notice and steep price hikes, the Walled Lake City Council voted to decline the county's proposed assessing-services agreement and approved a contract with Assessment Administrative LLC, which staff said would begin July 1 and lower the city's assessing cost by about 62.5%.
The Walled Lake City Council voted to reject Oakland County's proposed assessing-services agreement and instead authorized a contract with Assessment Administrative LLC to provide property-assessment services beginning July 1.
Council members discussed the county's decision to raise its assessment fees sharply and with little prior notice, then voted down the county agreement in a roll-call vote and immediately substituted a new resolution authorizing the contract with Assessment Administrative LLC.
The dispute began after Oakland County commissioners approved a large increase in assessment charges to municipalities. Commissioner Smiley, who attended the meeting, said the county vote was narrow and poorly timed for local budgets. "The county's been essentially subsidizing these costs for 50 plus years. How about we just do one more year to let people kind of absorb this and deal with it," Smiley said, summarizing arguments made by several municipalities at the county hearing.
Chelsea Pesta, a city staff member who led the council's follow-up on alternatives, told council members that Assessment Administrative LLC, a Macomb County'based firm, already serves several nearby municipalities and was prepared to begin work July 1. Pesta said the contract proposal would reduce the city's assessor expense by about 62.5% compared with the county proposal and that the vendor already interfaces with the county's Citrix system staff use.
Council members sharply criticized the county's timing and methodology for the increases. Several council members described the increases as disruptive to municipal budgeting and said the county had not sufficiently consulted affected cities. After discussion, the council first voted to reject the county agreement; the original county resolution failed. The council then approved a substitute resolution to not renew the agreement with the county and to switch to Assessment Administrative LLC.
Mayor Ackley and other council members said the change was intended to protect the city's budget and preserve local service continuity. The newly approved contract was described as a contract award and will be executed by the city administration.
The council did not direct any immediate litigation or further county action; the vote created a record of the city's opposition and set the city up to work directly with Assessment Administrative LLC for 2025 assessment operations.
Looking ahead, staff said the city would coordinate data transfers with the county to avoid disruption to the tax year timetable and would return to council if additional implementation steps or related budget adjustments were required.
