Yes!

The City has partnered with Oakland County to provide an online tax payment option.

Click here to pay your taxes online.

Yes, the City provides an option to pay in Installments by Mail on Real Property only.  

Taxpayers may elect to pay their taxes in eight  (8) installments between July – February.   Payments are to be received by the last working day of the month to avoid any additional interest penalties.  (Postmark is not accepted as the pay date).

This payment plan does not include any Winter Taxes.

Yes.  The repayment plan is meant for customers who have had difficulty keeping their water accounts current, and who carry an outstanding balance.

To participate:

• Customers must make monthly payments towards the outstanding prior balance on their water bills.  Staff can assist you in determining an appropriate monthly amount to ensure that you will be paid in full at the end of your repayment period.
• Customers must remain current with any new or future water charges.  Any new charges for water or other services must be paid by the due date as noted on the bill.
• The late payment penalty of 10% will continue to be applied to the current charges each quarter.   However, if the new charges are paid by the due date, the 10% penalty will be restored as credit to the account at the end of the repayment period when the account is otherwise paid in full.
• Customers who bring their accounts current by December 31, 2013 are eligible to have any $50 penalty fees assessed between October 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 restored as credits to their water bill account.
• In order to receive the credits to their account for the 10% late payment fee and $50 penalty, the customer must contact the Water Department to confirm the final repayment amount.  Once confirmed, the customer must request credit for the 10% and $50 be issued on their water service account.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your participation in this repayment plan, you may email the Water Department by email or by phone at 248-546-2374.

In previous years, charges for water and sewer consumption on your bill were allocated identically: (50% water / 50% sewer). However, the actual cost of providing water is significantly less than the cost of treating water.

As a result, the City has adjusted how water rates are allocated on a water bill to more accurately calculate the cost of providing the different services.  Beginning July 1, 2015, charges for water and sewer consumption on your bill are allocated at 64% sewer and 36% water.  

For example, if your total water bill was $200, your water & sewer costs would be allocated as such:

‍

Sewer Fees:       $128.00 (64% of total water bill costs)

Water Fees:       $72.00 (36 % of total water bill costs)

Total:                 $200.00 (100% of total water bill costs)

Contact our Water Department in person, by email or by phone at:

City of Ferndale Water Billing
300 E. 9 Mile Rd.  
Ferndale, MI 48220

Email: waterbilling@ferndalemi.gov

Phone: 248-546-2374

Please click here for our current hours of operation

In the month of February you will receive a ‘NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT, TAXABLE VALUATION, AND PROPERTY CLASSIFICATION’ FROM Oakland County Equalization. 

This form has your proposed values for the upcoming tax year.  There are instructions on how to set up an appointment with the March Board of Review to appeal the proposed values.  The March Board of Review is the place to begin the appeal process.

More information can be found here.

Log in to your account to view water history, pay your bill, manage your information, and more. 

Or, learn about our other payment options.

Residents and businesses are billed quarterly. If the first digit of your account number is:

1 - Your bill will be due in February, May, August, and November
2 - Your bill will be due in March, June, September, and December
3 - Your bill will be due in January, April, July, and October

Industrial properties are billed monthly.

Yes.  As the landlord, you must call 248-546-2374 and give permission for the tenant to sign for the water service.  Tenants may register for water service online by completing an online registration form.

Yes. If you are moving from your current property address, the best and fastest way to request your final bill is by using our online seamless form. 

You can also receive a final bill by calling the Water Department at 248-546-2374 or stopping into the office, 300 E. Nine Mile Road, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. 

"Readiness to Serve" is the the fixed-rate cost applied to cover system maintenance, supporting customers and the portion of the Department of Public Works that is reserved for water. Every property where there is a water meter present and connected to the system is assessed a Readiness to Serve fee, whether its occupants are utilizing water or not.

The Sewer Usage Fee is a cost associated with cleaning (via the County's wastewater treatment facility) water. The cost of cleaning water is higher than the cost of receiving/using water, so the City multiplies each customer's incoming water usage (it's not possible to meter outgoing dirty water) by roughly 1.54—a predetermined number provided by the wastewater treatment center. This gives us the amount to charge for used water that will be cleaned.

The board reviews and approves tax assessment roll for the City.  The Board of Review also hears requests for correction of assessment.

The Board of Review meets each year in March at City Hall, 300 E. Nine Mile after the annual assessments have been sent out to homeowners.

The “Readiness to Serve Charge” (RTS) is a common fee assessed by municipal utilities to cover basic fixed costs associated with providing on-demand water service throughout the system.  RTS is specifically allocated to cover a percentage of the costs of maintaining and operating your water system even when no water is being used. 

This is a system wide connection charge that applies even if you used no water during the billing period. It is called Readiness To Serve because your property is connected to the water system and Ferndale's Water Department is ready to provide clean water and treat waste water to your property at any time.  There are certain fixed costs to providing water to the community regardless of water consumption, for example paying for staff time, facilities, water pumps, fleet service vehicles, water testing, etc.

A 10% penalty is charged two days after the due date stated on the billing invoice.

The ‘Summer Tax’ bills are issued on July 1st and are due by July 31st.

The ‘Winter Tax’ bills are issued on December 1st and are due by February 14th.

The Board of Review meets each year in March at City Hall, 300 E. Nine Mile after the annual assessments have been sent out to homeowners.

Pay online

By Mail or in person at City Hall.  (You may also drop your tax payment in the drop box located outside the entrance).  The hours of operation are 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, Monday through Thursday

City of Ferndale
300 E. Nine Mile Rd.
Ferndale, MI 48220

Oakland County Equalization

Oakland Pointe Office Building
250 Elizabeth Lake Road, Suite 1000W
Pontiac, Michigan, USA, 48341 

Phone: 248-858-0740