Alpena County Equalization

Alpena County Director

Harry Guthrie

Ted Somers Sr. Appraiser, Harry L. Guthrie, Alpena County Director, and Travis M. Montie Clerical.

Alpena County Equalization
720 W. Chisholm St.
Suite #5
Alpena, MI 49707
Phone: (989)354-9560
FAX: (989)354-9647

Office Hours:
Mon - Fri 8:30am - 4:30pm

Closed on Government Holidays

State law requires that each year the County Board of Commissioners shall meet in April to determine the equalized value of the County. The Equalization Department was formed to assist the County Board with this task. Each year random samples of appraisals are compared with the actual assessments of those properties. State law requires that all property be assessed at 50% of market value. If the equalization department's study shows a certain class of property to be assessed below 49% of market value or above 50% of market value, a factor will be applied to the assessments to bring the total value of the class to 50% of market value.

The Equalization Department has other duties, aside from equalization, related to the assessment function. These include maintaining current names and addresses of property owners in Alpena County, performing property splits on the assessment roll as deeds come through, maintaining tax maps and printing tax bills, assessment rolls and assessment change notices for the eight townships in the county. Other duties are helping property owners and real estate sales people with questions concerning property lines and property values, and assisting the local township assessors with laws and procedures in the assessment function.

The Equalization Department staff consists of five people. The Director oversees the whole operation and manages the staff. Two appraisers are responsible for doing appraisals used in the equalization study. This includes everything from initial sales data research to the actual field inspection and interview of the property owner. The Deputies are responsible for examining all deeds for name changes or property splits. They also assist the director wherever he needs it. They also handle all the clerical work required in the office. This includes filing, typing of forms, computer data entry and phone calls. The whole staff shares in the task of handling phone inquiries and problem solving for property owners and real estate agencies.

Forms and Documents

Affidavit Attesting that Qualified Agricultural Property Shall Remain Qualified Agricultural Property
Claim for Farmland Exemption from some School Operating Taxes
Conditional Rescission of Principal Residence Exemption
Principal Resource Exemption Affidavit (PRE)
Property Transfer Affidavit
Request to Rescind/withdraw Homestead Exemption
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