The Assessing Department consists of the City Assessor, an Assessment Technician II, and an Office Professional I. The Assessing Department is the first link in the property tax revenue chain. The Assessor's responsibility is the discovery, listing and valuation of all properties within the assessing jurisdiction. The primary purpose of the Assessing Department is to estimate the fair market value, or "true cash value," of all real and personal properties located within the City of Mount Pleasant. The department studies the sales market and collects information on properties in order to estimate current market value.

The Assessing Department does not create value. Rather, value is created by economic forces in the market of buyers and sellers. The Assessor has the responsibility to study transactions of the market and appraise all property in accordance with market trends and State Tax Commission guidelines. The Assessing Department also keeps track of ownership changes, maintains maps of parcel boundaries, maintains legal descriptions for all land, and prepares sketches of all buildings and summarizes their characteristics.