By Staff
CASSOPOLIS – The Cass County Board of Commissioners on Thursday adopted the 2008 equalization report and authorized Equalization Director Lesley Ramlow to act on its behalf in all matters before the State Tax Commission.
A study was conducted for every real and personal property class within each of the county's 17 assessment districts.
According to the report, Cass County has agricultural property with an assessed value of $404,285,095; commercial, $94,948,151; industrial, $42,696,428; and residential, $1,996,283,562, for a real property total of $2,538,213,200.
Dowagiac's breakdown shows commercial property with an assessed value of $28,180,700; industrial, $9,397,000; and residential, $70,594,400 for total real property of $108,172,100.
Real property totals elsewhere in Cass County include: Silver Creek Township, $300,642,700; Porter Township, $291,408,800; Ontwa Township, $280,127,500; Penn Township, $257,942,051; and Howard Township, $221,148,350.
Taxable value changed 4.97 percent from 2007 to 2008, from a high of 6.51 percent in Ontwa Township to 2.24 percent in LaGrange Township, 2.43 percent in Newberg Township and 2.74 percent in Dowagiac.
"Those of who didn't sell our houses in the last year, our taxes went up 2.3 percent," same as the inflation rate. "The previous year, 2006, 3.7 percent. That's what's holding this down a little bit," said County Commissioner David Taylor, D-Edwarsburg.
County Administrator Terry Proctor said the county parcel count is 35,996.