Owosso sets Oct. 19 hearing on nuisance cleanup bills to owners

If Owosso has torn down, boarded up or hauled away a hazard on your property and the bill went unpaid, the city is moving to put that cost on the property itself. The City Council has set a public hearing for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, in the City Hall Council Chamber at 301 W. Main Street, on a special assessment roll covering those unpaid charges.

The city posted the notice Friday. Its web posting names the proposal Special Assessment District No. 2026-102, Hazards & Nuisances, and says the district relates to "unpaid costs incurred in the altering, repairing, tearing down, abating or removing of hazards and nuisances."

The roll covers 33 properties and totals $13,820.24, according to the hearing notice attached to the posting. Most of the charges are small: 24 of the 33 are under $300, and the smallest is $129. Two stand out: $4,001.49 for 800 W. Main St. and $1,707.72 for 1803 W. Stewart St. The notice also says any hazards or nuisance invoices still unpaid by their due date will be added to the roll.

In plain terms: a special assessment is a charge attached to a specific piece of property rather than paid out of general taxes. When a city abates a nuisance — a dangerous structure, an unsafe building, debris — and the owner does not reimburse it, the cost can be rolled onto the property's tax bill. The Oct. 19 hearing is the point at which an owner can object before the council confirms the roll.

The notice spells out what an owner has to do to keep the right to appeal. Objections must be filed in writing with the city clerk before the hearing closes, and an owner must protest at the hearing, in person or by letter, to appeal the amount later. An owner who protested can then file a written appeal with the State Tax Tribunal within 30 days after the council confirms the roll. Questions go to the City Treasurer's Office at (989) 725-0599.

Owosso is also taking general comment. Residents can speak at the meeting, email the city clerk at [email protected], mail written comment to 301 W. Main Street, Owosso, MI 48867, or leave a recorded message at (989) 725-0596.

Owosso Township has its own special assessment hearing, for streetlights, on its Oct. 12 agenda, as we reported Wednesday.

What happens next: The council takes citizen comment on the roll at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at City Hall. Written objections must reach the city clerk before the hearing closes.