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Bloomfield Hills commission rejects resident’s request to waive late tax penalty
Summary
A resident sought relief after a tax payment mailed from Florida reached the city lockbox late; finance staff said the city does not accept postmarks as an automatic waiver and the commission voted to reject the penalty-waiver request to preserve consistent application of policy.
The Bloomfield Hills City Commission voted on July 14 to reject a resident’s request to waive a late property-tax penalty after city staff said the payment arrived at the city lockbox after the due date.
Finance staff described the case: the resident mailed the payment from Florida in late December but the lockbox did not receive it until Feb. 26; the payment due date was Feb. 14 (staff cited Feb. 16 in one instance). The late-posting triggered the city’s penalty. Finance staff said their current practice does not accept postmarks as automatic proof of timely payment and that previous requests for waivers had been denied to preserve consistent treatment of taxpayers.
Commissioners debated fairness given recent mail-delivery issues. One commissioner warned that accepting the postmarked envelope could invite many similar claims; another noted the city offers alternative payment methods (online ACH, credit card, drop box, in-person payments) and that notices are sent after the due date giving residents an opportunity to respond. Legal counsel also noted the property-tax statute allows the city to accept postmarked payments but does not require it to do so.
After deliberation, the commission approved a motion to deny the requested waiver and uphold the assessed penalty. Commissioners said the decision was grounded in a desire for consistent administration of tax policy.
