ITHACA — The Gratiot County Board of Commissioners is scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to approve the 2026 Report of Taxes to be Apportioned (Resolution 26-463). State law requires the board to do this each October, and the resolution says its action “will be the official authorization for taxing authorities within the County to levy property taxes for 2026.” The resolution and its eight-page report are attachments to the board’s Oct. 6 agenda. The vote has not yet taken place, and the figures below are the report’s estimates.
The county’s share
The report puts Gratiot County’s 2026 taxable value at $2,015,015,615. On that base the county’s allocated rate of 5.5206 mills is estimated to raise $11,124,095.23, and its voter-approved extra operating rate of 2.8716 mills $5,786,318.84, for a total of $16,910,414.07. The county debt rate is 0.0000. The two rates add up to 8.3922 mills, the same levy this publication reported when the board adopted its 2027 budget. The report also lists the 6-mill State Education Tax on $1,576,035,715 of taxable value, an estimated $9,456,214.29.
Townships and cities
The report lists estimated local tax dollars for 16 townships, three cities and three villages. Among the cities, Alma is at $4,188,679.72 on a charter rate of 13.8410 mills, Ithaca at $1,447,532.23 and St. Louis at $911,702.28. Among the townships, Wheeler’s estimated total, $655,809.38, is the largest, with an extra-voted operating rate of 3.9703 mills. Ithaca’s figure includes a 2.2500-mill debt rate, and a separate table lists a 2.2500-mill combined fire, police and EMS special assessment for St. Louis.
Authorities, colleges and schools
Four authorities appear with their own rates: the Gratiot Emergency Services Authority at 1.5000 mills on $780,576,324 of taxable value (an estimated $1,170,864.49); the St. Louis, Ithaca, Pine River Transit Authority at 0.8000 mills (an estimated $258,111.45); the Ashley Area Fire Authority at 1.5000 mills ($222,657.90); and the Alma downtown development authority ($26,592.81). The Gratiot-Isabella Regional Education Service District is estimated at $10,142,410.01, including $9,652,366.77 from a 5.2000-mill extra-voted operating rate. Montcalm Community College is listed at 2.5987 mills for the part of the county in its district.
School districts are shown at the non-homestead operating rate, generally 18 mills, plus debt and sinking-fund rates. Alma Public Schools has the largest estimated total in the table, $6,559,244.52, including a 7.0000-mill debt rate; Ithaca Public Schools is listed at $2,938,973.20 with a 2.0000-mill debt rate and St. Louis Public Schools at $2,870,161.78. A final page gives each township and city a total homestead and non-homestead rate for every school district that overlaps it.
What is not in the packet
The attachment does not say how the 2026 taxable value compares with last year’s or whether any levy was reduced under the Headlee rollback. Those figures would come from the equalization department’s report and the clerk’s certified rates. Taxpayers can check their own bill against the page that lists their township or city and school district. Gratiot County’s Equalization Department has not been asked to comment on this report; it is welcome to respond at contactus@gcwhistleblower.com, and any response will be published in full.