What Does the Kent County Treasurer Do?

We had the honor of having Treasurer Pete McGregor speak at our January General Meeting. Incase you missed it, here’s the cliff notes on what our Treasurer does for Kent County.

The #1 Duty of the County Treasurer is to safeguard public funds.

• Responsibility to invest funds entrusted to the Office of the County Treasurer in accordance with State Statute and the County Investment Policies. The Treasurer is the Fiduciary for the County tax dollars.

• Guidelines: Public Act 20 of 1943 (as amended), and the County Investment Policy

• Treasurer is responsible for collecting the Hotel/Motel Lodging Tax

• County Treasurers are responsible for “Delinquent” Real Property Tax Collection: Delinquent for more

than 1-year.

• Kent County Treasurers Office Team are “Foreclosure Prevention” Specialists:

• The General Property Tax Act requires that property with delinquent Michigan property taxes be foreclosed after three years of delinquency.

• Our office averts 99% of the potential tax foreclosures in Kent County.

• Homeowners & Businesses that actively work with our office can request a one-time financial hardship deferral which extends the time to pay the taxes. Payment Plans and partial payments are encouraged.

• The Treasurer’s Office refers property owners to a variety of community programs that help keep people from losing their homes. These programs include state grants, local grants, financial hardship extensions for qualified taxpayers, one-on-one counseling, and financial planning.

• Foreclosure is a tragedy. Our team puts in a tremendous amount of effort to prevent foreclosure.

• When we look at the whole situation and connect with the homeowners, and provide resources, there is always a positive outcome.

• When all else fails or the parcel owner is not willing to cooperate then my duty at the County Treasurer is to proceed with foreclosure. I need to protect the rights of all taxpayers and property owners.

• Being proactive and communicating with delinquent property tax owners and helping them with resource in the delinquency & pre-forfeiture period is key to our success in lowering the foreclosure rate.

• Bi-lingual tax statement, notices, and newsletters - since taking office all notices and communications are in both English & Spanish.

• Kent County’s AAA Credit Rating – Maintaining this bond rating demonstrations fiscal responsibility.

• Why this is important – example: The airport will save at minimum $20M or more over the course of the life of the airport bond, because of the county’s AAA bond rating.  

• By using the backing of the AAA full faith and credit all the bond projects, (from the airport to the drain commission projects), we are able to realize significant savings over the life of the loans. This save tax dollars for our citizens.