The Leelanau Township board approved an updated poverty exemption, income guidelines and asset level test policy at its regular meeting on Feb. 11.
In the judgement of the township’s board of review (BOR), the resolution provides relief to those who are eligible and are unable to fully contribute to the annual property tax burden of their principal residence due to their financial situation. In order to qualify for a hardship exemption, a person must meet specific requirements outlined in the policy.
Leelanau Township Supervisor Barb Conley said the policy was first brought up at the group’s meeting in January, keeping in mind that the board of review, which receives and hears taxpayer appeals of the annual assessment roll, is set to meet in March. The BOR is required to meet in March each year and can review items like appeals, late filed small business taxpayer exemptions, disabled veterans and poverty exemptions.
Conley said income standards as well as asset level test standards for eligibility guidelines were updated in the policy. For example, within the township’s income standards eligibility guidelines, a one person household must not exceed the poverty threshold of $20,032, while a two person household must not exceed $27,072 in order to qualify for the poverty exemption.
Taking into consideration the high cost of living in Leelanau County, the township’s threshold is slightly higher than the federal poverty guidelines. According to the 2025 U.S. federal poverty guidelines, a one person household meets the poverty threshold if their income does not exceed $15,650, while a two person household must not exceed $21,150. In addition to meeting the income level requirements, applicants must also meet requirements based on asset level, such as saving accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit, etc.
“We need them (the board of review) to have the tools in place to do what they need to do in March — Our previous policy just took the standard federal poverty level guidelines which comes out annually early in the year,” Conley said. “Our cost of living is really high and is probably one of the highest in the country — The purpose of the whole thing is to keep people in their homes when they don’t really have enough money to pay their property taxes. And for our region, I and the board felt that that (poverty) level needs to be a bit higher than the federal poverty level… so in order to get the exemption, you can have more income here than the federal poverty level would suggest.”
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2025 living wage calculator states that in Leelanau County, it’s estimated that $25.34 per hour is what’s needed for an adult with no children, whereas an adult with one child will need $42.11 per hour. Conley said she looked at the MIT table of wages needed to make a living for one adult and no kids in Leelanau County and compared it with other state counties like Wexford, Alpena, Otsego and Cheboygan, adding that the poverty wage estimates for these counties was $7.52 per hour.
