Oakland County is moving to slim down its Equalization Department after 22 local communities bailed on county assessing contracts, a major shift in how property values get handled across the region. The county’s Legislative Affairs and Government Operations Committee signed off on a voluntary buyout plan today, with the full Board of Commissioners slated to take up final approval on July 16. County leaders say the goal is to right-size the office for a much smaller pool of municipal contracts while cushioning the blow for employees with financial incentives and short-term health benefits.
Under the proposal, Equalization employees would be offered a severance-style package that includes one week of pay for every year of qualified service, along with a limited extension of health coverage and access to mental health support while they decide. Workers would have 45 days to review their offers and another seven days to change their minds if they opt in, and county officials estimate roughly 20 employees may receive packages. As reported by MLive, the county plans a departmental meeting at 1 p.m. on July 22 to hand out the offers and field questions.
County duty and legal backdrop
County officials say the buyouts are a direct response to the sudden loss of contracted assessing work after recent rate hikes, but they also point out that they cannot simply shut the lights off in Equalization. Under state policy from the Michigan Department of Treasury, counties are required to maintain an equalization function that keeps property assessments consistent from one local unit to another. Oakland County’s Oakland County site notes that the division compiles valuation reports and assists local assessors as part of that legally mandated role.
Staffing and what employees would get
The Equalization Division currently has about 58 employees, down from roughly 81 before communities began walking away from the contracts, and county leaders say they want to pare that down to around 38 staffers to match the remaining work. Salaries in the unit range from about $48,000 to $133,000, and officials estimate the now-lost assessing contracts were worth roughly $12.5 million over three years. “Aligning our staffing with operational needs ensures we remain fiscally responsible while continuing to deliver excellent services to the community,” County Executive Bill Mullan said, according to MLive.
Why towns opted out and what comes next
Local officials began pushing back after the county approved sharp per parcel rate increases last year, and a wave of cities and townships started hunting for private assessing firms or exploring in-house setups to avoid the higher charges. As C&G Newspapers reported, some communities complained that the new rates were financially unsustainable and in certain cases would more than double what they had been paying. The buyout plan now heads to the full board on July 16, and the July 22 departmental meeting is expected to be employees’ first real opportunity to see the offers on paper and press county leaders for answers.
