Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Foreclosure Restitution topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Callers press council on tax-foreclosure refunds and returning foreclosed properties
Summary
Public commenters asked the council for information and action on overtax refunds, restitution for property owners who lost buildings to foreclosure, and larger reallocation of foreclosure-related funds to communities.
Several residents raised concerns about past tax-foreclosures, requests for refunds and a specific foreclosure case during public comment.
Ruby Riley said she attended the meeting to ask for copies of presentations and to speak about what she described as an “overtaxed” situation. Riley said her own overtax amount was $1,202 and that she had to take a loan to cover it. She also described a friend who lost a long-held, Black-owned mechanical shop to foreclosure and said the property is now vacant and up for sale. “He shouldn't have to pay for it because he spent a whole life history there,” Riley said, and asked the council for information she could relay to him.
Rhonda Evans Adams (identifying an affiliation with the Detroit Justice Center and Outlier Media) urged the council to reallocate funds returned after tax-foreclosure settlements so more money is directed to residents and community services. She said only about one-third of funds were being returned to residents in certain cases and urged repurposing blight funds for housing, upskilling and other community needs.
These comments were made during public comment and no immediate council vote or staff directive was recorded on these specific requests in the meeting transcript.
