Mount Clemens commission directs city attorney to draft 15% transfer-to-tax fee ordinance

The Mount Clemens City Commission voted to direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance creating a 15% transfer-to-tax fee on delinquent invoices, excluding special assessments, with first and second readings to follow.

The motion, offered during general business under agenda item 9a, formalized a staff-led recommendation to add a transfer fee intended to defray administrative costs when unpaid invoices are placed on the tax roll. City manager Shipman told the commission that many jurisdictions impose similar fees and that the city’s delinquent invoices are largely tied to rentals, vacant lots and nonresident property owners.

Commissioners debated whether the 15% fee should be uniform or targeted. One commissioner said she supported a 15% charge for businesses, vacant owners and landlords but favored relief for owner-occupied homeowners, citing pandemic-era pressures. The city attorney cautioned the commission that a fee must be commensurate with the cost of the service and distinguished a fee from a tax, noting legal constraints on revenue-producing measures.

Staff said implementation would include outreach and notice; Shipman proposed putting a notice on the tax bill and sending letters or using social media so property owners would have time to make payment arrangements before the fee applied. Commissioners discussed timing tied to the winter tax cycle and recognized that the ordinance would require first and second readings before taking effect.

The commission approved the directive to draft the ordinance by roll-call vote. The measure to draft the ordinance is procedural; it does not itself set an effective date or immediately impose the fee. Next steps are for the city attorney to prepare ordinance language and for the commission to consider the ordinance at the required readings.

Implementation details and exemptions, including whether owner-occupied residences will be excluded and how a sliding scale might operate, were discussed but not decided. Staff said the materials they provided reflect an initial 15% figure based on a sampling of nearby jurisdictions and that more analysis could be done on the precise percentage and notification approach.

The public comment period had raised related governance concerns: a resident urged the commission to follow charter provisions for appointing a permanent city manager and to review recent litigation involving local marijuana permits, remarks commissioners acknowledged but did not tie directly to the fee vote. The commission moved on to its next agenda item after the vote.