Village Manager Discovers Properties Missed By Schoolcraft Assessor For Six Years

Vicksburg is asking the state of Michigan to investigate errors made by Schoolcraft Township's former property assessor after the village discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue went uncollected.

The controversy involves what Schoolcraft Township calls omitted properties in Vicksburg. The township is in charge of deciding how much most of Vicksburg pays in property taxes.

Schoolcraft Township's former assessor left certain homes off the tax rolls for six years, a mistake costing at least six figures for the village.

VICKSBURG, Mich. — Hundreds of thousands of dollars were left uncollected in Kalamazoo County after Schoolcraft Township admits its former assessor made mistakes.

Village Manager Jim Mallery discovered late last year his budget took a major hit. When Schoolcraft Township's previous assessor resigned in February 2025, the new assessor found 30 properties being taxed as empty land or under construction in Vicksburg dating back to 2020, even though homes have now been built there.

Mallery says it's put a big hole in Vicksburg's budget.

"Let's say there was, you know, 27, 28, 29, 30 parcels that were missed or misassessed and each one was misassessed by $4,000," he said. "You're at $120,000 of lost revenue to the village."

Mallery claims Schoolcraft Township never told him or anyone in Vicksburg about the mistake.

Internal Documents Show Township Leaders Knew About Errors

Internal Schoolcraft Township documents obtained by News Channel 3 show township leaders talking about the problems throughout 2025, several months before a formal meeting between the township and Village of Vicksburg.

These letters were sent last fall to the people now living at those 30 properties, telling them their property taxes would go up thousands of dollars this year.

Mallery said he's still not sure how much this mistake has actually cost Vicksburg and each of its 4,000 residents.

"Goes to repairing roads, having our parks and beautification program, all different items that service the citizens," he said, referring to the missing revenue.

Mallery accuses Schoolcraft Township supervisor Don Ulsh of failing to communicate what the township itself calls egregious errors.

News Channel 3 reached out to Ulsh, who declined an interview and directed questions to township attorney, Michael Homier.

"From our perspective, we've corrected or are correcting those errors," Homier said.

Township Refuses State Investigation Request

Michigan law lets local governments ask the state tax commission to retroactively collect taxes from homeowners whose properties were incorrectly assessed.

Homier says Schoolcraft Township isn't going to do that.

"Is it going to have a detrimental impact on any taxing jurisdiction over that period of time? Probably not," Homier said. "But, it's going to have a really big effect on those residents of the township."

In December, Vicksburg's village attorneys sent Schoolcraft a letter demanding the township hire an auditor to look at years of assessment records.

Schoolcraft declined, saying its new assessor already did one.

"What purpose would be served by spending additional taxpayer money on hiring a third party to identify the same properties that we've identified?" Homier asked.

Homier says all assessment corrections will only be made on a going-forward basis, but that's not good enough for Vicksburg.

The village is now asking Michigan's tax commission to investigate Schoolcraft Township and the former assessor.

Mallery hopes it won't have to come to that.

"It's never too late to for parties to get together and have honest, direct, transparent conversations," he said.

News Channel 3 confirmed a state investigation is now underway into the omitted properties.

Village Considering Incorporation

In a letter to Schoolcraft Township, Vicksburg says it is considering incorporating as a city in order to handle tax assessments itself.