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Council reviews 2026 poverty‑exemption policy and asks staff to model partial exemptions
Summary
Council discussed whether to add 25/50/75% partial property tax exemptions allowed by statute; staff said partials are permitted but historically not used and will return with calculations and tax‑impact charts for council consideration.
Petoskey City Council discussed updates to the 2026 poverty‑exemption policy on Dec. 15, focusing on whether to include partial exemptions of 25%, 50% or 75% in addition to full exemptions allowed under state statute.
City staff said the proposed guidelines follow state tax commission levels for income and assets. Councilmember DeMour noted the statute permits partial exemptions and asked whether the city should add those options. Staff responded that while some communities use partials, Petoskey has not in recent years and adding them would require additional tables and recalculations to reflect each partial level.
Council members debated the merits and fiscal impact of partial exemptions. Some members said partials could help households that narrowly miss full exemption thresholds; others said the board of review typically administers full exemptions and that partials would add administrative burden. Council asked staff to prepare charts showing tax implications for 25%, 50% and 75% partial exemptions and to return with recommendations at a future meeting.
No ordinance or resolution was adopted on Dec. 15; the council directed staff to model options and report back.
