Correction: This story was updated to correct the name of Gregory Reed, the attorney representing Robinson Memorial Church.
LANSING — A decades-old Lansing church is suing the city over a six-figure tax bill for a garden property that was tax-exempt for years but was changed to taxable commercial property in 2020.
Robinson Memorial Church of God in Christ has asked a judge for a temporary restraining order in Ingham County Circuit Court as an effort to halt tax collection and foreclosure proceedings against the lot.
A court hearing on the request is scheduled for Tuesday.
The church had a $123,500 tax bill as of 2023, which had been reduced from $302,900 the year before, and there have been no changes since that reduction, according to a screengrab of a March 2025 email from City Assessor Jennifer Czeiszperger that was included in the church’s legal filing. It did not say why the bill dropped.
Gregory Reed, an attorney for the church, said the church was attracting about 50 mostly elderly people several years ago and there is no reasonable way the congregation could ever come close to paying that bill.
“It’s been used for revivals and educational uses,” he said. “We’re very disappointed.”
The 6-acre lot on Perry Robinson Circle near Jolly Road and Cedar Street sits across town from Robinson’s 509 Charles St. church. The lot lost its tax-exempt status in 2020, when the city reevaluated its tax rolls and removed the lot’s tax-exemption status. The church itself retained its tax-exempt status.
The church’s tax bill has grown from $30,000 when it began to reopen after the pandemic to more than $100,000.
The church wants the lot’s tax-exempt status restored so it can sell the property, which Reed said is valued at more than $600,000.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Michael West, and church member Thomas Emig both allege in affidavits that city officials had assured them during a 2023 meeting that their lot’s tax-exempt status would not continue to be a problem and that they would receive a written report confirming that.
Scott Bean, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said Friday that the city does not have a record of a report but there may be related documents available. He declined to release those documents to the State Journal.
In an email attached to the court filings and dated March 27, 2025, the city’s current assessor said the city does not have a report that the church was expecting following a 2023 meeting between church and city officials.
Also in the recent court filings, the church says that the city never informed it of the 2020 tax status change at the time and the church was surprised with a large tax assessment.
“This action was taken without prior notification,” the filing says.
The issue, however, has been on the city’s radar for nearly three years. In March of 2022, after the church complained about the initial roughly $30,000 tax bill, then-City Assessor Sharon Frischman told the State Journal the types of periodic reviews that landed the property back on the tax rolls are standard.
“Just because you’re a 501(c)(3) or a church and you own something doesn’t automatically give you a property tax exemption,” Frischman said. “The law is much narrower.”
Reed, who has worked on religious issues throughout his career, said the city should have informed the church about the tax status changes.
He said the legal complaint was more than a tax issue. It could help to resolve whether a church can own tax-exempt properties across the state, he said.
It is not uncommon for churches to acquire or be willed homes or properties, and the churches can often take some time figuring out the appropriate uses so having difficulty maintaining tax-exempt status could significantly affect a church’s finances and reputation, Reed said.
The Perry Robinson Circle lot was given to Robinson Memorial Church years ago with the intent of it becoming a new church location. But the congregation rejected a move and planned to eventually sell it for development, Reed said.
The lot had been used for years as a community garden and a food distribution site for the Greater Lansing Food Bank.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing revoked church’s tax-exempt status, leading to 6-figure tax bill, lawsuit
Reporting by Mike Ellis, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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