Detroit introduces a plan to cut the number of home foreclosures

An Anmerican Home - Stock photo by Pexels

Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans, Mayor Mike Duggan, and Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree called on the Michigan Legislature to implement a sweeping new approach to assist tens of thousands of Detroiters and Wayne County residents who owe back property taxes avoid foreclosure. The plan builds on steps the City and County have already taken to reduce occupied home foreclosures by 94% since 2015.

Michigan State Representative Wendall Byrd (D-3) has introduced legislation that will facilitate this proposal. They call this proposal to minimize foreclosures Pay As You Stay or PAYS. This proposal aims to reduce tax foreclosure for Detroit homeowners who live in poverty and who are struggling to make payments.

According to data from the City of Detroit, this plan would help approximately 31,000 homeowners stay in their homes by dramatically reducing the amount they owe on their back taxes and lowering their monthly payments.

This payment plan is available to all those eligible for the poverty tax and disabled veteran exemptions. It will remove interest, penalties, and fees so only back taxes or 10% of taxable value is owed whichever is less. This will include any past due balance on the City of Detroit’s solid waste fees.

Pay As You Stay is a simple, three-part plan:

1. Once you enroll, all interest, penalties and fees would be eliminated;
2. To reduce an undue burden on homeowners, the balance due would be limited to back taxes only or 10% of a home’s taxable value – whichever is less; and
3. The remaining balance would be paid back over three years at zero percent interest.

Homeowners who qualify for a full or partial Property Tax Exemption and enroll in future years would be eligible for the program. To be PTE-eligible, a household with 1 person could not make more than $19,303 per year; a household with 4 people could not make more than $28,671.

“Since 2015, we’ve been able to reduce the number of occupied foreclosures by 94%, but far too many Detroiters still are at risk of foreclosure,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “Pay As You Stay would help more than 31,000 Detroit homeowners stay in their homes by eliminating interest, penalties and fees and making payment plans affordable for those who need them.”

Detroit City Council Member Janee Ayers added in a statement on Facebook, “Our city can only thrive if we work with our most vulnerable residents who have stayed here through the hardest times.”

More information about this Pay As You Stay proposal is available on the City of Detroit's website.

The Warrendale Detriot Blog will continue to follow this story as it develops and the PAYS legislation moves throught the Michigan Hosue of Representatives.

The future of mass transit in Detroit

Transit station - Photo by Ted C/FreeImages.com

Earlier this afternoon, representatives from Macomb and Oakland Counties blocked a key vote that would have allowed voters in southeastern Michigan to decide on a millage to improve mass transit in the region. This is the 27th time that funding for a regional transit authority has been blocked due to parochial interests.

There are many across Michigan who a disappointed by this news. Many are even confused since the bulk of new transit options that would have been created under this plan would have been in Macomb and Oakland Counties.

While I join the echo of disappointed Detroiters, I must admit that I am not surprised by this development. Many in the northern suburbs, particularly the more distant suburbs, have long been hostile to public funding for mass transit.

The question that I believe all Detroiters must ask now is: where do we go from here?

There are no doubt those who will simply give up. Others will attempt to appease Macomb and Oakland Counties with an even greater share of transit benefits, most likely at the expense of those who live Downriver and in Western Wayne County.

I, however, advocate for a different option. The City of Detroit as well as Wayne and Washtenaw Counties are the three entities that were eager to move forward with improving mass transit in southeastern Michigan. There are also a few communities in our northern suburbs, such as Ferndale, who are also eager to see a better transit system in place.

Bus stop - Photo by Andre Montejorge

Rather than continue down the same path that we've been on for decades - of constantly trying to convince our holdout neighbors that this is in everyone's best interests and constantly being rebuffed - I believe it is everyone's best interest for those communities who see the value in transit to move forward on our own rather continuing to spend more time and resources convincing the holdouts that they're wrong.

By moving forward without these skeptics, we could improve upon the QLine and take it to 9 Mile. Build upon the walkable communities in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Ypsilanti. Provide coordinated support to the DDOT and AATA systems in Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Based on what we've seen in other parts of the country, people and business will likely flock to those parts of our region where transit is improved. (For a detailed accounting of this trend, please see Transit-Oriented Development in the United States: Experiences, Challenges, and Prospects by Robert Cervero available for free here.)

The holdouts will likely circle behind once they see the progress and realize that they cannot extract even more from the people of Wayne County. If they don't, it's more their loss than anyone else's.

The bottom line is that I believe it is time to stop allowing a relatively small group of individuals to hold the transportation needs of more than 2.1 million Michigan residents hostage. It's time for us to move forward, with or without the holdouts.

Attempted robbery at Chase Bank in Detroit

Chase Bank - Photo by Frank Nemecek

There was an attempted robbery at the Chase Bank (17733 W. Warren Ave.) located at the southeast corner of W. Warren Avenue and the Southfield Freeway. This incident happened at approximately 1:15 p.m.

Luckily for everyone who was in the bank at the time - except of course the robber - there was an off-duty Wayne County Sherrif deputy in the branch when this happened. Wally Beydoun of the Wayne County Sherrif's Department managed to stop the crime without incident.

The Arab American News has complete coverage of this attempted robbery on their website here.

I commend Beydoun for remaining calm during a difficult situation and thinking so quickly.

Water deal on the line

The deal to create a regional water authority for southeastern Michigan is in trouble, according to published news reports. The City of Detroit's bankruptcy plan called for such an authority to be created no later than June 14. Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel doesn't appear inclined to go along with it.

If Hackel doesn't like the deal, that's between him and the people of Macomb County. I'm okay with this deal falling apart.

If there is no deal on a regional water authority then there is nothing to prevent the City of Detroit to retain ownership of that portion of water system that is within its city limits but sell the suburban portion of it. Such a sale would not only remove the water system's debt from the City's books, it would likely also leave us with more than $1 billion in cash.

The cash from such a sale could then be used to pay down some of the other debt that Detroiters carry - either debt from the City of Detroit itself or from the Detroit Public Schools. Either way, paying down our debts would enable us to lower our property taxes.

And lower property taxes - either as reduction in debt service levied by the City of Detroit or a reduction in what the Detroit Public Schools levy - would be welcome in a city like Detroit which has the highest taxes in Michigan.

If Hackel isn't happy with the regional water deal, that's between him and the people of Macomb County. I simply hope that Mayor Mike Duggan, Councilman Gabe Leland, and the other members of the City Council use this opening as a chance to advance the interests of our residents.

Let the deal fall through, if Hackel continues to object.

Sell the portion of our water system that is in the suburbs to any number of private investors.

Use the proceeds from such a sale to pay down debts - for either the City of Detroit or the Detroit Public Schools.

Once the debt is paid down, lower the debt service levy on Detroiter's property taxes.

The choice is clear. The only question that remains is: what will Detroit's leadership do?

Investigation into Wayne County completed

U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced last week that the federal corruption investigation of Wayne County government was now complete. Joining her in this announcement was Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation, which began three years ago, resulted in the convictions of five individuals, including Wayne County’s Chief Information Officer and an Assistant Wayne County Executive who served as the Director of HealthChoice of Michigan. The United States will not seek any additional charges in connection with the investigation.

“I would like to thank and commend the officials and staff of the Wayne County Executive and the Wayne County Corporation Counsel for their cooperation during this investigation,” said McQuade in a prepared statement. “Their assistance and openness allowed federal investigators to carefully review and assess a number of complex issues regarding the operation of county government.”

Detroit birth and death records transfer to Wayne County

Individuals will have to obtain Detroit birth and death certificates through the Wayne County Clerk’s Office beginning January 14. The Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion will close its Vital Records Division permanently at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 13.

During the transfer of services from the City of Detroit to Wayne County, birth certificates will not be available from December 16 – January 13, 2014. However, during the transfer period, funeral directors may file and obtain death certificates at the Wayne County Clerk’s Office in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Funeral directors, however, are advised to call (313) 224-7631 first because of Wayne County furloughs and the upcoming holidays.

In Person
Beginning January 14, 2014, individuals will be able to obtain Detroit birth and death certificates at 640 Temple Street, 6th floor with same-day service. Parking will be free.

By Mail
Individuals may also send requests for Detroit certificates by mail to:

Office of the Wayne County Clerk

City of Detroit Vitals

640 Temple Street, 6th Floor

Detroit, MI  48201.

All mail requests must be sent in letter form, and include the signature, return address, and phone number of the individual requesting a record. A photocopy of the requestor’s identification. must be included with all birth record requests. Payment by money order (payable to The Wayne County Clerk’s Office) must be with all requests. The cost for the first certified copy of a birth or death record is $22 and $7 for any additional copies.

Individuals may also obtain birth and death certificates through the State of Michigan Vital Records Office
by calling (517) 335-8666 by writing to Post Office Box 30721 in Lansing, MI 48909

For additional information on how to obtain a Detroit birth or death certificate via the Wayne County Clerk’s Office, visit www.waynecounty.com/clerk/birth_certificates.htm or call (313) 224-7631.

Guest Commentary: Things the Emergency Manager Should Do

Erik Drader, a resident of the other fine neighborhoods in Detroit, posted a series of comments on the Facebook page for this blog that outlined what he thinks our soon-to-be appointed emergency manager should do once in office. I agree with some of ideas and disagree with others. However, I think this is a great way to start the conversation about what the emergency manager for Detroit should do.

Therefore, with his permission, I am proud to present his comments as a guest commentary on this blog.

There is no entity or organization in the country that is more wasteful, incompetent, and utterly broken as Detroit city government. Given that, the emergency manager should dismantle as much of city government as possible, and transfer the authority and operations to different organizations and/or units of government. Use Cobo, Campus Martius, Eastern Market, and the Riverwalk as successful examples of the city turning over responsibility to dedicated non-profits, private/public partnerships, regional authorities, or different units of government, and replicate these successes as much as possible. 

I would love to see the city completely get out of the transit business and hand off everything to the new regional transit authority  The city should let Belle Isle become a state park, and then try to find partnerships to help fund and maintain as many other city parks as possible. 

I would also like to see if city airport could be turned over to the county airport authority and expanded. City airport could be a huge asset if the runways were expanded to allow full size aircraft to land there. The City tried to do that while Mayor Coleman A.Young was in office, but there were too many businesses and residents that would have had to move at that time. That area has experienced massive population loss and abandonment, so it should be much easier to acquire the needed land now than it was 30 years ago.

There are many departments that should be eliminated and turned over to state or county control. The departments of health, human services, and human rights are good starting points. The City should also look at turning over property tax collection to the county. 

Any help that we can get from other law enforcement agencies should be welcomed and expanded as much as possible. The county sheriffs department offered to take over responsibility for policing the bus system a couple years ago, and was turned down. The state is willing to deploy more state police officers in the city to help out. Wayne State is willing to help police areas that are a little outside of the Wayne State University district.

If the Detroit Police Department can turn over certain duties and/or partner with other law enforcement agencies, coverage can improve and response times can be cut. Also, there needs to be reorganization within the DPD itself. Shortly before leaving the job, Chief Ralph Godbee said that the DPD had 100 officers working on payroll, which was still being done with paper and pencil. He said that they planned to spend $600,000 on a new payroll system to try to get more efficient. WTF? An organization of 2,500 employees can be properly serviced by a payroll department of 3 civilians. Also, a modern payroll system doesn't cost $600,000 to purchase. Internal restructuring and outside partnering could result in hundreds of additional police patrolling the streets, without any additional expenditure from the city. 

These are just starting points. There is much more that can be done to cut costs and improve service delivery. 

Also, the EM should figure out exactly how much long-term debt is owed by the city and how much of that debt the city can actually afford to pay, and then make a settlement offer to the unions and bond holders. The 2007 United Auto Workers contracts are a good template to work from. The city should set up a union-controlled Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association with a set amount of seed money (negotiated in settlement talks) and then switch over to a defined contribution retirement plan for all city employees.

If the unions and bond holders can not come to a settlement agreement with the city, bankruptcy should then be pursued.

New Recreation Center to Open in Warrendale Park

Construction Continues on Recreation Center in Warrendale Park

The frame work for the new Wayne County Hype Recreation Center is up and work is continuing. This new center is being built in the Warrendale Recreation Area, which is ironically just outside of the Warrendale neighborhood. It's on W. Warren Avenue, just west of Ann Arbor Trail, in Dearborn Heights.

The Hype Center will offer youth athletic programs as well as tutoring and mentorship. It will also offer substance abuse prevention, leadership and entrepreneurial training and support, food bank / nutritional center, vocational / literacy center, senior activities center, youth education center as well as a healthy living center. The building will contain 110,000 square feet of space on two floors with a 1/8 mile indoor running track, five full basketball courts and a 5,000 sq ft weight training center.

Thank you to David Malhalab and the MNS News Services for sharing this with me.