1. Developer appeals Novi tax assessment BY MATT HELMS FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER March 13, 2002

2. Disagreement Novi officials figure the primary building of the troubled Main Street Novi project -- with restaurants, offices and other shops -- is worth about $19 million. Jim Chen doesn't think so. The developer is asking state tax officials to whack nearly in half the value of the 160,000-square-foot building and the land it's on. City assessor Glenn Lemmon said Tuesday that such a protest isn't unusual. He said businesses account for roughly 75 percent of the appeals of the city's assessments, used to calculate taxes.

3. Assessing Property Dave Hieber, manager of the Oakland County Equalization Division, said he hasn't seen the assessment for Main Street, but the amount "doesn't seem to be out of the ballpark" for the land and a building of its size. But he said the appraisal would be difficult because it's an unusual property; it's not a traditional downtown or a typical mall, so it's harder to use comparisons to help determine its worth.

4. Economics Value = V = R/i. where i = interest rate, R = rents. Property tax = t * Value = tV. where t = property tax rate V = R/i – tV. V(1+t) = R/i Increase in t  ?