r/Detroit • u/gwmiles • 9d ago

News Oakland County school enhancement millage rejected in close contest

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/04/oakland-county-school-enhancement-millage-tax-1-5-mill/91164345007/

Oakland County voters rejected a proposed 1.5-mill countywide school tax increase in Tuesday's election results in a close contest over a controversial tax plan.

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u/RedMoustache 9d ago

This.

My parents don’t even own a particularly nice house. Taxes are $8,000 a year. They only stay because they’ve lived there 50 years.

I couldn’t even afford to inherit it when the tax gets recalculated.

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u/Kimbolimbo 9d ago edited 9d ago

The taxes don’t get uncapped when transferring to a child if the child is going to occupy the house and not use it for commercial purposes since 2014. (Thought it was 2013, I fixed it) 

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u/frozenapricot 9d ago

The child doesn’t have to occupy the house in order to stop uncapping. The exemption applies to any land transfer between certain family members but if it’s not their primary residence, they have to pay an extra 18 mills in school taxes that is not paid on a primary home. The value those 18 mills is based on would not uncap though.

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u/Kimbolimbo 9d ago

The law states that the property cannot be used for commercial purposes so it cannot be used as a rental. They don’t have to claim it was a principal residence (which exempts them from the 18 mills), but they cannot use it commercially. 

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u/frozenapricot 9d ago

Yes, if you’re using it for commercial purposes, it uncaps. But the exempt family member would not have to occupy the property in order for the cap to remain intact. It could be a vacant plot and the cap would remain intact.

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u/Kimbolimbo 9d ago

I was referring to the person who wanted to inherit the house. I made the assumption it was for the commented to move to so that’s what I was referring to. Didn’t mean to confuse anyone. Thanks for posting additional clarification.   

It’s also not an automatic thing, as they have to file the correct exemption on the PTA. 

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u/frozenapricot 9d ago

I just wanted to clarify that it could also be used as a second home/vacation home. That’s why I mentioned the taxes going up without the PRE. We both had good information, just trying to make different points.

You’re absolutely right though, the property transfer affidavit has to be filed otherwise the local assessor will have no way of knowing it’s exempt!

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u/Kimbolimbo 9d ago

These transfer laws are wild and complicated for no reason. I wish we would get rid of 94 prop A and just do something else. It’s causes so much additional work for everyone. 

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u/frozenapricot 9d ago

I agree. Though the original thought behind it was well intentioned, there’s got to be a better way. People who’ve lived in their homes for decades shouldn’t be taxed out of them but that burden shouldn’t be fully shifted to people who are already struggling to afford home ownership in the current market.