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City

City of Lowell

Kent County

City of Lowell is a city in Kent County, Michigan. In 2025, primary homes here pay a total of 44.02 mills in property tax; rentals, second homes and businesses pay 61.77 mills. It levied property tax in 1 tax area in 2025. In fiscal year 2025 it reported $21.4 million in spending across all its funds. It has 14 boards and sub-entities.

Total property tax rate, primary homes

44.02

mills in 2025 · 1 tax area · about $7,162 a year on a median home (estimate)

Total property tax rate, rentals, second homes and businesses

61.77

mills in 2025 · includes the school operating tax

Levies, 2025

2

in 1 tax area

Boards and sub-entities

14

Total property tax rates here, 2025

What property pays to every taxing body (the State, county, schools, local government and others), by tax area. A mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value.

Compare with every tax area in Kent County →

School district Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills
Lowell Area Schools 44.0208 $7,162 61.7660

Kent County's certified rates split each area's total between a summer and a winter tax bill; open an area below to see its split.

Primary homes, which their owners live in, pay the homestead rate; so do qualified farmland and a few other kinds of property exempt from the school operating tax. Rentals, second homes and most businesses pay the non-homestead rate, which includes it. What these terms mean

Median home, estimated: the yearly tax a new buyer would pay on a primary home at Kent County's median value, $325,400 (Census Bureau, 2024): half the value times the mills, divided by 1,000. An estimate, not a bill. How the estimate works

Every levy, by tax area

Lowell Area Schools · 44.0208 primary homes, 61.7660 other

Billed in 2 parts, in mills: primary homes summer 37.0154, winter 7.0054; rentals, second homes and businesses summer 45.8880, winter 15.8780.

Levy Levied by Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills
Allocated or Charter Operating City of Lowell 15.7000 $2,554 15.7000
School Debt Lowell Area Schools 7.0000 $1,139 7.0000
State Education Tax State of Michigan 6.0000 $976 6.0000
ISD Voted Special Education Kent ISD 4.3364 $706 4.3364
County Allocated Operating Kent County 4.0605 $661 4.0605
Community College Grand Rapids Community College 1.6793 $273 1.6793
Library Kent District Library 1.0832 $176 1.0832
Building and Site Lowell Area Schools 0.9581 $156 0.9581
ISD Voted Vocational Education Kent ISD 0.9310 $151 0.9310
Jail Kent County 0.7417 $121 0.7417
Senior Citizens Kent County 0.4914 $80 0.4914
Zoo and Museum Kent County 0.4134 $67 0.4134
Ready by Five Kent County 0.2476 $40 0.2476
Voted Operating City of Lowell 0.2450 $40 0.2450
ISD Allocated Operating Kent ISD 0.0841 $14 0.0841
Veterans Kent County 0.0491 $8 0.0491
School Operating (Non-Homestead) Lowell Area Schools 0.0000 $0 17.7452

Where the property tax goes here

Each tax area's total for primary homes, split by who levies it.

Of the $7,162 a year a new buyer of a median primary home here would pay (an estimate), about $2,594 goes to the City of Lowell (36%). The rest goes to the other bodies that levy here: the State, the county, the schools and others.

Its total rate for primary homes ranks 5th highest of Kent County's 94 tax areas. See every area

  • State
  • County
  • ISD and college
  • School district
  • City, township or village
  • Library, transit and other
  • City of Lowell Lowell Area Schools 44.0208 mills $7,162

    City of Lowell with Lowell Area Schools: 44.0208 mills in total (State 6.0000, County 6.0037, ISD and college 7.0308, School district 7.9581, City, township or village 15.9450, Library, transit and other 1.0832), estimated $7,162 a year for a new buyer

The figures as a table
Tax area State County ISD and college School district City, township or village Library, transit and other Total Estimated tax
City of Lowell, Lowell Area Schools 6.0000 6.0037 7.0308 7.9581 15.9450 1.0832 44.0208 $7,162

Median home, estimated: the yearly tax a new buyer would pay on a primary home at Kent County's median value, $325,400 (Census Bureau, 2024): half the value times the mills, divided by 1,000. An estimate, not a bill. How the estimate works

What City of Lowell levies, 2025

Only its own millages, part of the totals above, and how many tax areas each is levied in.

Levy Primary homes mills Median home est. yearly tax Rentals, second homes and businesses mills Tax areas
Allocated or Charter Operating 15.7000 $2,554 15.7000 1
Voted Operating 0.2450 $40 0.2450 1

Median home, estimated: the yearly tax a new buyer would pay on a primary home at Kent County's median value, $325,400 (Census Bureau, 2024): half the value times the mills, divided by 1,000. An estimate, not a bill. How the estimate works

Money in and out, fiscal year 2025

From its annual financial report, as filed with the Michigan Department of Treasury. Its fiscal year ends in June.

Revenue

$23.9M

all funds

Spending

$21.4M

all funds

Spending per resident

$5,153

2024 population: 4,153

General fund spending

$4.2M

budget: $4.4M

Spending by purpose

All funds. Share of $21,399,058 in total.

  • Public works $12,659,256 59%
    Public Works (Non-Act 51) $116,302
    Road Commission/Street Dept. (Act 51) $1,457,884
    Water and/or Sewer Systems $2,157,879
    Airports $91,027
    Other Public Works Enterprise-Activities $8,693,264
    All Other Public Works $142,900
  • Capital outlay, debt service and other $1,794,701 8%
    Debt Service $562,236
    Depreciation $1,232,465
  • General government $1,674,021 8%
    Legislative (Council, Board, Commission) $44,648
    Chief Executive $122,586
    Treasurer $219,795
    Clerk $188,612
    Assessing Equalization $75,853
    Elections $29,242
    Building and Grounds $197,799
    Attorney/Corporation Counsel $106,038
    All Other General Government $689,448
  • Public safety $1,508,995 7%
    Police/Sheriff/Constable $1,215,638
    Fire $226,269
    Building Inspection & Regulation Activities $67,088
  • Community and economic development $1,292,889 6%
    All Other Community Development $1,292,889
  • Recreation and culture $644,489 3%
    Parks and Recreation $203,039
    Library $103,919
    Various Cultural Activities, Fine Arts, Historical Society, Museums, etc. $54,421
    All Other Recreation and Culture $283,110
  • Transfers out and special items $1,824,707 9%
    Transfers (Out) $1,824,707

Revenue by source

All funds. Share of $23,880,599 in total.

  • Charges for services $15,116,656 63%
    All Other Services Rendered Charges $15,116,656
  • Taxes $3,490,219 15%
    Trailer Taxes (Act 243 of 1959) $780
    Property Tax (includes, delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, fees, community wide special assessments) $3,489,439
  • State grants $1,161,417 5%
    State Revenue Sharing $531,145
    Streets and Highways (Act 51) $616,968
    Other General/All Other State Aid Grants $13,304
  • Other revenue $786,003 3%
    Sale of Capital Assets $56,424
    Public and Private Contributions $427,082
    Miscellaneous Other Revenue $302,497
  • From other local governments $656,585 3%
    Street and Highways $92,289
    Culture and Recreation $15,482
    All Other $548,814
  • Interest and rents $422,664 2%
    Interest & Dividends $422,664
  • Licenses and permits $422,348 2%
    Business Licenses and Permits $9,275
    Non-Business Licenses and Permits $413,073
  • Borrowing and transfers in $1,824,707 8%
    Transfers In $1,824,707

"All funds" is the report's total column: the general fund, other governmental funds, enterprise funds such as water and sewer, internal service funds and component units. Its totals include money moved between the government's own funds, and revenue includes money borrowed. Spending per resident is total spending divided by the population shown; the shares are each heading's part of its total. Open a heading to see the lines filed under it.

Population: DashBoard_Metrics (MI Community Financial Dashboard), Michigan Department of Treasury.

Source: FY2025 F65 City, Michigan Department of Treasury, retrieved November 3, 2026.

Revenue and spending, fiscal years 2016–2025

All funds, as filed each year.

Revenue Spending
The figures as a table
Fiscal year Revenue Spending General fund spending Long-term debt
2025 $23,880,599 $21,399,058 $4,234,269 $12,674,123
2024 $21,726,333 $19,850,902 $4,064,805 $10,562,784
2023 $20,159,568 $20,239,601 $4,024,189 $7,892,151
2022 $21,877,995 $21,056,787 $3,519,007 $8,373,920
2021 $18,162,473 $18,451,737 $3,215,785 $8,242,987
2020 $17,088,197 $15,773,734 $2,840,501 $3,405,123
2019 $17,882,999 $14,963,573 $2,781,094 $10,101,347
2018 $15,329,311 $15,081,128 $2,608,201 $10,460,099
2017 $16,006,739 $15,756,086 $2,718,155 $15,716,927
2016 $14,623,901 $13,703,564 $3,499,778 $8,681,131

Each year links to the dataset it comes from. A year with dashes across has no report in the State's data.

Debt, pensions and staff, fiscal year 2025

As reported in the same filing.

Debt and fund balance

Long-term debt at year end
$12,674,123
General fund balance at year end
$1,736,165
Of which unassigned
$1,700,781

Pensions and retiree health care

Unfunded pension liability
$6,454,151
Pension funded, general employees
66%
Pension funded, police and fire
—
Unfunded retiree health care (OPEB)
$1,576,601

Staff

Police
18
Fire
—
Combined public safety
—
All other staff
25
Wages and salaries
$3,516,231

A dash means the State's data has no figure for that line. Its datasets leave out zero amounts in most years, so a dash can also be a zero that was filed. The unfunded pension liability is the filing's "aggregate pension liability" line.

Source: FY2025 F65 City, Michigan Department of Treasury, retrieved November 3, 2026.

Boards and sub-entities

Authorities and special districts

Boards, commissions and committees

Transparency checks

What this body files with the State and posts online, checked against the law and good practice.

Grade pending

A grade appears once every check below has been read and the site has set its grading scale. Every check counts the same.

Required by law

7 found · 0 not found

  • Found: Audit filed with the State for the latest fiscal year

    Treasury's Document Search shows the audit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 as received, sent December 3, 2025.

    Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act, MCL 141.421 et seq.; MCL 141.921 · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Audit filed with the State for the latest fiscal year

  • Found: Audit filed on time

    Sent December 3, 2025, within six months of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 (due December 31, 2025; fiscal year end from its F-65).

    Due six months after fiscal year end; MCL 141.921 · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Audit filed on time

  • Found: Annual financial report (F-65) filed with the State

    Treasury's Document Search shows the annual financial report (F-65) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 as received, sent December 3, 2025.

    MCL 141.424(3) · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Annual financial report (F-65) filed with the State

  • Found: Annual financial report (F-65) filed on time

    Sent December 3, 2025, within six months of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 (due December 31, 2025; fiscal year end from its F-65).

    Due six months after fiscal year end; MCL 141.424(3) · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Annual financial report (F-65) filed on time

  • Found: Retirement report (Form 5572) filed with the State

    Treasury's FY2025 status report (as of September 18, 2026) does not list it as "No Retirement Submission".

    PA 202 of 2017, MCL 38.2805 · FY2025 · Read September 26, 2026 from State records · Evidence for Retirement report (Form 5572) filed with the State

  • Found: FOIA procedures and written public summary posted

    The "City Records through FOIA" page (linked from the homepage) links "FOIA Guidelines" (Lowell - FOIA Guidelines Procedures) and "Public Summary of FOIA Procedures & Guidelines".

    MCL 15.234(4) · Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for FOIA procedures and written public summary posted

  • Found: Retirement report information posted

    A news post of December 8, 2025, "Retirement System Annual Report - 2025", links "pension and opeb 2025.xlsx", the city's pension and OPEB (PA 202) report for 2025. Identified by its title; the spreadsheet was not opened.

    MCL 38.2805(8) · FY2025 · Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Retirement report information posted

Good practice

8 found · 4 not found

  • Found: Current budget posted

    Budgets and City Finances posts the "Recommended 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget" for the fiscal year in progress (July 2026 to June 2027); no approved version is posted separately.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Current budget posted

  • Found: Budgets for the past three years posted

    Budgets and City Finances posts the approved budgets for 2025-2026, 2024-2025 and 2023-2024 (and earlier).

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Budgets for the past three years posted

  • Found: Latest audit posted

    Budgets and City Finances posts "City of Lowell 2024-2025 Audit" (fiscal year ended June 30, 2025) and earlier audits.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Latest audit posted

  • Not found: Budget posted as a spreadsheet or data file

    The budgets on Budgets and City Finances are PDFs; the one spreadsheet posted is the 2025 retirement system report, not a budget.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Budget posted as a spreadsheet or data file

  • Found: Regular meeting schedule for the year posted

    The City Council page says the Council "meets every 1st and 3rd Monday at 7:00 PM".

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Regular meeting schedule for the year posted

  • Found: Agendas posted for the past 12 months

    Council Agendas and Minutes posts the agenda for every 2026 meeting, through September 21, with 2025 and earlier years.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Agendas posted for the past 12 months

  • Found: Minutes posted for the past 12 months

    Council Agendas and Minutes posts minutes for 2026 meetings through September 8, and for 2025.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Minutes posted for the past 12 months

  • Found: Members' names and a way to contact them posted

    The City Council page names all five members (mayor, mayor pro tem and councilmembers), each with an email link.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Members' names and a way to contact them posted

  • Not found: Check register (payments) posted

    No check register or payments list was found on Budgets and City Finances or the Treasurer and Human Resources pages.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Check register (payments) posted

  • Not found: Employee pay or salary schedule posted

    Employee Handbook and Employment Agreements posts the city manager's employment agreement, the police (FOP) agreement and a DPW (IBEW) wage addendum. The Local Officers' Compensation Commission and Mayor & Council pages give no council pay. A web search of the site (2026-09-27) found no other pay posted. Not found under the publisher's rule of 2026-09-27: G10 needs pay posted for every employee group and every elected official.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Employee pay or salary schedule posted

  • Not found: Current contracts posted

    No list of current contracts or vendor contract in force was found on the finance, clerk or government pages (labor and employment agreements count under G10 and G12).

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Current contracts posted

  • Found: Labor agreements posted

    Public Employee Labor Agreements posts the Fraternal Order of Police agreement (2017-2020) with its July 1, 2022 addendum, and the July 1, 2022 addendum to the IBEW (DPW) agreement.

    Read September 27, 2026 on its website · Evidence for Labor agreements posted

About

Type
City

Codes

Census of Governments ID
166710
Census GEOID (county subdivision)
2608149540
Census GEOID (place)
2649540
Michigan Treasury unit code
412060

Sources

Where this page's facts come from.

Open Government Project · a nonpartisan, nonprofit project

Every figure comes from a public record, cited on its page.