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County equalization report: SEV up 6.32% for 2025; veterans' exemptions reduce taxable revenues
Summary
Eaton County Equalization director reported a 6.32% countywide increase in State Equalized Value (SEV) for 2025, with residential and agricultural classes rising; the committee voted to forward the report to the full board for adoption.
EATON COUNTY, Mich. — Eaton County's Equalization director told the Ways and Means Committee on Apr. 11 that countywide State Equalized Value (SEV) rose 6.32% for 2025 compared with prior years' larger increases, and the committee recommended the report for full-board action.
Key numbers: The director reported a 6.32% increase in total SEV countywide, with class breakdowns including agricultural up 8.75%, residential up 6.85%, industrial up 5.09% and commercial up 3.4%. The total county SEV was reported as $6,753,208,484.
Local impacts: Several townships showed larger-than-average gains, including Olivet (reported 17.2% increase), Bellevue Township (11.5%), and Calhoun (11.4%). The director noted that increases were stronger in rural townships that have higher concentrations of agricultural and residential property.
Veterans' exemptions and taxable value: The Equalization office told commissioners it has incorporated disabled-veteran exemptions into its calculations; while SEV increased, a significant portion of SEV is exempted. The director estimated roughly $53 million of SEV is tied to disabled-veteran exemptions with an associated taxable-value impact of about $37 million; taxable value increases remain governed by the Headlee/State caps (the director cited a 3.1% inflation factor that limits taxable-value growth).
Committee action: The committee moved, supported and approved forwarding the equalization report to the full county board for formal adoption.
Why it matters: SEV changes are the base for tax-rate calculations and drive taxable-value increases subject to state limits. Commissioners and residents often confuse SEV with the taxable value used to compute property tax bills; the director repeated that taxable value — which caps increases for homeowners — is distinct from SEV and that veterans' exemptions reduce revenue the county would otherwise have received.
Next steps: Administration will place the equalization report on the full board agenda for adoption and clerk's office processing.
