Livonia might charge its residents a 1% administrative fee to collect their property taxes, beginning with the December tax bill.
The city is considering the fee as part of efforts to deal with a substantial drop in revenue expected in its proposed $48.4-million budget for the next fiscal year. The council is holding a public hearing tonight, and is expected to vote on the proposed budget, which includes the fee, Oct. 20.
If the council chooses to charge its residents to collect, process and distribute their taxes — an option permitted by state law — Livonia would not be alone. Terry Stanton, spokesman for the Michigan Treasury Department, said more than three-quarters of the 1,800 tax-collecting units in the state charge the administrative fee.