Remember when Detroit was called the Renaissance City? (Decades ago, or so it seems....)

QuoteOne of every five Detroit properties in Detroit are in the process of foreclosure under an unprecedented effort by Wayne County to take possession of every property that is three or more years behind in taxes.

Wayne County is beginning to notify an unprecedented 80,000 property owners – about 70,000 of them in Detroit – that they are on the verge of losing their property to foreclosure because of delinquent taxes.

By comparison, the county began the foreclosure process on 42,000 properties in 2013 and 56,000 properties this year.

The treasurer's office is targeting every property owner who is at least three years behind on taxes as Detroit embarks on an aggressive plan to eliminate blight and recover lost revenue under Mayor Mike Duggan.

"We have decided to foreclose on everything," Chief Deputy Treasurer David Szymanski told me. "In 2008 and 2009, finances were so tight that people had to decide between eating and paying taxes in Detroit."

But, Szymanski said, "The economy has improved."

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2014/10/10/wayne-county-begins-foreclosure-process-on-whopping-80000-properties/

The economy has improved? Thanks to the three billionaires in Detroit who are buying up property to build a new stadium and entertainment complex downtown, or slumlord Manny Maroun buying up property in hopes of erecting a SECOND privately-owned international bridge for commerce.

Vote Democrat. Vote progress. Vote jobs. Vote twice. Hello, are you hearing me?!

Bid4assets.com

You can buy a lovely home in Detroit for a dollar.

Quote from: TboneAgain on October 11, 2014, 10:23:22 PM
Vote Democrat. Vote progress. Vote jobs. Vote twice. Hello, are you hearing me?!

You want a Kwame moment, Pancho? I got your Kwame moment....

http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/10287/kwame_s_ex-lover_christine_beatty_s_ex-house_up_for_sale

Meanwhile, the properties seized go into the Detroit Land Bank, and nine of the people running THAT outfit are drawing six-figure salaries. No surprise here: WDET is radical-left NPR radio, Fahle being a flagrant Red, and the rest of these people are all Democrats.

QuoteThe Detroit Land Bank Authority is playing a larger role than ever in fighting blight, and that means more employees and bigger salaries.

The public entity recently added its ninth employee receiving a six-figure salary – Craig Fahle, the former host of WDET's Craig Fahle Show, who now makes $120,000 a year.

According to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the Motor City Muckraker has learned:

    One of the highest-paid employees, Carrie Lewand-Monroe, is the daughter of Tom Lewand, former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party and Mayor Mike Duggan's current group executive for jobs and economic growth. Lewand-Monroe is a senior advisor for the Land Bank, earning $135,000. She's an attorney and previously served as executive director of the state's Land Bank Fast Track Authority.
    Some are former Detroit City Council staffers, including senior Land Bank attorney Marcel Hurt, who is paid $100,000 a year. Hurt served as chief of staff for former council President Saunteel Jenkins.
    Another former council staffer is Rodney Liggons, who now manages policy and community engagement for the Land Bank for $53,000 a year. He worked for Detroit Councilman James Tate.
    The highest-paid employees earn $140,000 a year. One of them is Land Bank Executive Director Richard Wiener, who served as chief of staff for former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The other is the Land Bank's general counsel, Kevin Simowski, who is eligible for lifetime benefits after working at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
    The Bank has 56 full-time employees, 34-part-timers and eight interns.

    The political appointments aren't unusual, especially since public sector experience is often a big advantage.

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2014/08/27/9-employees-make-6-figure-salaries-at-fast-growing-detroit-land-bank/

And meanwhile to all THAT is the breakdown of all the people making money from a city that says it is broke.....

QuoteAs Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr takes the city through bankruptcy, many question the amount of money he spends on consultants and aides in both his office and the mayor's. It is estimated that at the end of the bankruptcy — in five months, the city will have spent $62 million dollars on consultants. To date that number is at approximately $20 million.

Orr's former firm Jones Day is contracted to make $18 million for legal services and core restructuring of the bankruptcy; Conway MacKenzie 19.3 million to evaluate, develop, negotiate and execute the restructuring; Ernst &Young, $8million for cash flow analysis; Miller Buckfire 8 million as financial asset adviser; Plante Moran $4 million for accounting services; Pepper Hamilton $850,00 for conflicts counsel; Miller Canfield $750,00 for collective bargaining services; Manhattan Institute $622,000 for strategic planning and development of the Detroit Police Department. Among others.

The EM has also approved Mayor Mike Duggan's 60 appointees, which has added an additional $5.5 million to the executive branch's expenses.

http://michigancitizen.com/detroit-executive-branch-orgizational-chart/

Don't pay your property taxes? There are consequences. I doubt my home county - Santa Clara County - would have three years of patience. These property owners should have paid something on their accounts - even dimes on the dollar - to show the county that they were not totally flaking out. That might have bought a little more patience, assuming the delinquent property owner is not flaking out, of course. I wonder how many of these properties have simply been abandoned.

The City of Detroit has been mis-managed by fools, flakes, and frauds for I don't want to guess how many decades. The expert consultant who have the skills to untangle decades of mess and plot a way forward, and who have no motive to obfuscate or cover their tails are not going to be cheap. I suspect the complainers either do not understand the magnitude and scope of the mess, or have a desire/need to obscure it.