Frequently Asked Questions

Michigan law allows a County Board of Commissioners to establish “normal levels” (also commonly referred to as “legal levels” or “court-ordered lake levels”) on inland lakes through circuit court proceedings. A 1967 order of the Arenac County 23rd Circuit Court set Forest Lake normal levels at 727 feet above mean sea level for summer and 722 feet for winter.

Part 315, Dam Safety, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 Pa, is the legal framework that requires anyone who wants to construct a dam of specified dimensions must first obtain a permit from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).

Part 307, Inland Lake Levels, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 Pa, is the legal framework for establishing and maintaining inland lake levels.

State law does not give the public the ability to vote on a lake level assessment or establishing a lake level special assessment district. Yet, it offers various opportunities for public comment and input. The County must balance interests from various stakeholders (such as lakefront and backlots) in this process but encourages public comment to help it come to the best proposal for any assessments or assessment district.

No. Different state laws require separate special assessment districts for certain lake improvements. A separate state law and assessment process governs weed treatments.

Establishing a lake level special assessment district requires the County to amend the historical lake level order to include a district. It does this by filing a petition in the 23rd Circuit Court of Michigan. All property owners within the proposed special assessment district will receive mailing notice informing them of the court hearing to consider amending the lake level order for a special assessment district and may attend that hearing.

A lake level special assessment district (SAD) can generally only include properties that “benefit” from a lake level. The Forest Lake Special Assessment District includes properties that can access the lake such as lakefront properties and those that may have “deeded access.” See the SAD boundaries here.

The Forest Lake Dam spillway needed significant repairs. Based on the required repairs, a formal funding source was needed to pay for the work and future maintenance of the lake level infrastructure.

The statute that governs established inland lake levels outlines a process to pay for lake level infrastructure operation and maintenance costs by special assessments (Michigan Compiled Law 324.30714). The same statute notes that a circuit court’s lake level order must confirm the boundaries of any special assessment district (MCL 324.30707(5)). A court order did not establish a special assessment district boundary to authorize assessments to maintain lake level infrastructure for Forest Lake. To ensure that the County can maintain the lake’s required lake levels, a special assessment district is being established to provide a funding mechanism for the infrastructure. Many inland lakes throughout Michigan with a legal lake level has a corresponding lake level special assessment district.

If you did not prepay your assessment and are paying through annual payments then the lake level special assessment will appear as a line item on your winter tax bill from 2024-2039. If your property taxes are in escrow then you will likely owe money into your escrow account. Please work with your lender on this. Annual payments include a portion of interest.

The deadline to prepay an assessment without interest was June 14, 2024. If your situation requires you to pay off your total assessment such as the sale of a home, it will include interest accrued up to the point of payment. Please call the Arenac County Drain Commission at (989) 846-2011 to receive your updated assessment amount with interest included.

The Arenac County Circuit Court established a lake level special assessment district in 2023. Following this, the Forest Lake Level Authority Board, held a public hearing on April 18, 2024, to review the proposed computation of costs and special assessment roll.The Board approved the roll then it was presented to the Arenac County Board of Commissioners on May 14, 2024, who approved the roll and computation of costs. Property owners subject to potential assessments received notice in the mail.

Although lake level infrastructure is extremely important and must be adequately maintained, it is also important to balance the affordability of any project and potential assessments. The lake level statue allowed the County to finance the lake level project and spread the assessment over 15 years to make annual payments manageable for those within a special assessment district. The County also applied for many grants, which paid for most of the project cost, lowering the burden on property owners. The project cost is $13,200,000 and property owners in the special assessment district are financing $2,087,340.65.

A lake level special assessment can only be levied when costs are incurred to pay for repairs, maintenance and operations of the lake level control structure or to maintain the legal lake level. It is possible Arenac County and the Forest Lake Authority Board (FLAB) will incur these costs in the future and defray them through special assessment. If this happens, property owners will be notified and an assessment roll and computation of costs must be approved by the FLAB and Arenac County commissioners.