$68 property tax bill?

[rjk]

http://www.freep.com/article/2009052...taxes+on+house

I just love her unreported tornado damage explanation.

[ThaFuzz]

Watson, who is paid $81,000 a year and gets a city-owned Ford Crown Victoria

WTF?! Buy or lease your own damn car! It's not like you can't afford it...

[Homer]

I would have done the same thing. Wouldn't you? If the Tax folks make a mistake it's time to rejoice. But then again I am not a public figure.

[LodgeDodger]

I would have done the same thing. Wouldn't you? If the Tax folks make a mistake it's time to rejoice. But then again I am not a public figure.

-------------------------------
Nope.

[wazootyman]

I would have done the same thing. Wouldn't you? If the Tax folks make a mistake it's time to rejoice. But then again I am not a public figure.

No, because once the city government figures it out, you not only owe the back-taxes, but you also potentially owe interest and penalties. It's much like filing an incorrect tax return; ignorance is no excuse, and eventually it catches up with you.

You'd have to be a complete fool to legitimately think your taxes were $68 when your neighbors' were $2,000 - $6,500. What does it say about your integrity as a public figure when you actively cheat the city of the people you represent? More importantly, what does it say about the city that she's gotten away with it for so long?

This is the reason people need to keep buying papers and supporting M.L. Elrick and company. People need to know this stuff.

[punky1]

I would have done the same thing. Wouldn't you? If the Tax folks make a mistake it's time to rejoice. But then again I am not a public figure.

Why would you hold anyone else to a higher standard than what you do of yourself? How can you criticize her for doing what you yourself would do? So if she were not a politician is it then ok for her to be a "cheat"?

[Just Amazed]

And how many other properties is this occuring with. I am pretty sure this is not the only case this has happened with. and really $68 on an empty lot, no wonder Detroit is so far in debt.

[Buy American]

The City of Detroit leadership has always left a lot to be desired but this takes another cake!
Again, the explanation given by Watson that defies any logic, defies any creditability, and defies common sense is offered to the people of Detroit. Again, the people of Detroit will probably take it lying down, with no questions to Watson. She knew exactly what she was doing and I hope they get her good. She owes thousands of dollars to the City and they should charge her inerest.

I can think of possibly five or six people in City politics that are honest, the rest of them are crooks and thugs on the highest level. These shysters have been robbing the City blind for years and years while on their high horse preaching to others about doing the "right" thing. What a bunch of hypocrits!

All they want is money from the suburbs, money from the State. They don't want actual help from "people who don't look like them" to get the City in order again. They can't handle it! All they know is how to steal and rape the citizens of Detroit. What a sham and what a shame.

[diver1369]

Ms. Watson's explanation for why she was paying such low property taxes defies logic and questions her credibility. By her actions after being questioned by a reporter, she fully knew she had received an undeserved benefit of a mistaken appraisal, if that is, in fact, what it was. Ms. Watson has been an advocate for the poor and dispossessed since she's been on the Council, kind of a moral conscience for those overlooked by the grand plans of the Mayor and other Council members. By not paying her fair share of her property taxes, she has exposed herself as someone who skirts her responsibility and wants others to pay for her political views. Is there some portal that the Council members walk through that exempts them from the reality the rest of us face in Detroit? They certainly seem to live in another universe.

[East Detroit]

She got a $60K mortgage the same year or 9 years after [[depending which story she uses) a tornado supposedly hit her home [[even though the Weather service says it didn't)... and got a bill saying her home was worth $1.6K and didn't question it?

She should resign in disgrace. If she has any integrity, that is.

[Buy American]

^^^^That's the trouble with all of them, they have no integrity; they feel they are above the laws, they are dishonest; they take and take as much as they can from the ones they are supposed to represent.....unfortunately, I don't see much of an uproar from Detroiters. Just like all the dealings with thug KK, "this too shall pass" with a slap on the wrist and a nose in the air.

[Crumbled_pavement]

Here's my outrage . . . no one likes paying taxes and I suggest 90% of residents of this country would pay $68 property tax if they could [[although those people would most certainly deny it). After all, isn't that one of the main considerations in buying a house in a particuliar community - the amount of property taxes? My complaint is if Watson thinks it's fair that she pay only $68 for property taxes then she should work DAMN hard to lower the property taxes in this city. No way anyone in this city should be paying $6k in taxes while she doesn't even pay $100. Politicians never have a problem taxing their constituents to death, but none of them want to pay the high taxes they impose themselves. Just look at a lot of Obama's appointees. If politicians feel their taxes are too high then LOWER THEM all across the board. Not only is Watson being dishonest and crooked, but she could help the city and its residents by lowering taxes so no has to pay outrageous amounts. Instead she settles for cheating the system for her own personal benefit and sends a big middle finger out to the rest of us.

[lo_to_d]

This occurs all over the city... only most of the time it's with commercial buildings. Next time you see a large commercial building near downtown that is empty, get the address, then look it up on public records. The property taxes are usually under $400 a year because many times the building is classified as a vacant lot. Bing should create a position for someone in the assessors department to check all vacant buildings and their taxes. The position would pay for itself 100-fold and would finally get these slum owners to either tear their building down, sell it, or speed up their redevelopment. I have looked up several all over downtown, midtown, and corktown.

[lo_to_d]

Meanwhile, many times homes in Detroit's most desirable neighborhoods have higher annual property taxes then their actual value. Anyone agree with me that Detroit's tax system needs to be completely overhauled? TAX WHAT WE DON'T WANT, NOT WHAT WE WANT!

[Crumbled_pavement]

Anyone agree with me that Detroit's tax system needs to be completely overhauled?

Absolutely. But the city will claim there isn't the money or resources to do so. Hell, as you pointed out, if the city overhauled their tax system correctly the money and resources would be there. It's just too many crooks standing in the way of progress.

[WolverinesA2]

Watson said she could not recall the specific date the tornado hit, saying it might have been 2002, or perhaps 1993.

Seriously? If a tornado hit my house, I think I would remember the little details, like what DECADE it happened in.

[R8RBOB]

Once again, one of our city council members has landed back in the news, in a not good way. Ms. Watson's claim that she paid the bill the city sent her for property taxes is weak.

What if, the city instead of undercharging her property taxes was overcharging and she was paying the overcharged bill every year for the last ten years and suddenly she discovered that city had been lowering the property tax in her neighborhood for years. Would she just call it a loss and accept the fact that city have been overcharging for years or would she scream bloody murder demanding a refund for 10 years of overpaying? She like me and every other red-blooded American would threaten to burn down the City-County Bldg to get our cash back.

Just like the city would have to refund overpayment, the city would demand 10 years of money that was not paid, regardless if if was their mistake. The city thought it was a vacant lot, the homeowner was suppose to inform them of the mistake. To use an excuse of I paid the bill they sent me is not the message I would want to send to Detroiters when I sit on the City Council.

[rjk]

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story...M1JvYIyJw.cspx

[thecarl]

how long ago was it that council members became embroiled in a scandal where well-connected property owners got giant tax breaks from a hardship committee? i can't remember the details, but so it goes with detroit, the malfeasance is a constant swirl, and one cannot keep track.

[7miledog]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...smear-campaign-

Now, of course, it's a C-O-N-spiracy to get her in an election year. Actually, it just may be. Hmmnn, all progressive, forward-thinking Detroiters are conspiring to oust all of the ineffective, living-in-the-past relics still making decisions for this city?!? Nnaahh, too good to be true.

Sad and sickening. Admit that you're wrong! THE WHITE MAN DIDN'T DO IT, YOU DID!!!!! It's no wonder the youth of this city cannot take responsibility, there is no place they can learn it from.

[Locke09]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...smear-campaign-

Now, of course, it's a C-O-N-spiracy to get her in an election year. Actually, it just may be. Hmmnn, all progressive, forward-thinking Detroiters are conspiring to oust all of the ineffective, living-in-the-past relics still making decisions for this city?!? Nnaahh, too good to be true.

Sad and sickening. Admit that you're wrong! THE WHITE MAN DIDN'T DO IT, YOU DID!!!!! It's no wonder the youth of this city cannot take responsibility, there is no place they can learn it from.

She didn't say anything about the white man. She implied it might be an election-related smear campaign. Stop making things up.

Why do so many people take the actions of one person and use that as an opportunity to disparage an entire city. That in itself is dishonest and more appropriate for the Free Press forum.

[Moetown]

She bought the house on a land contract for 40k in 1990, then refinanced for 60k in 2002, so she knew what the value of the house was while receiving a 68 dollar tax bill for the past 11 years...

When you get up on a soap box to battle tax breaks like she did, you better be clean, turns out she got a break of her own, then she got broken off..

I thought the prayer vigil in front of the house was a nice touch, what was the prayer for another tornado?

[MIRepublic]

She didn't say anything about the white man. She implied it might be an election-related smear campaign. Stop making things up.

I noticed that same comment, and it's as if people can't help but to inject stuff into a conversation where it was never brought in by the person in question. You know, you can always tell the people with agendas because their brains are always stuck on one thing.

As others have said, this is particularly disappointing given that it's Watson, of all of the council members. You know, I'm sure she knows this, but not asking enough questions and not being curious enough is not a defense. Never has been, and never would be.

[n7hn]

can u say "back tax her...... with significant penalties"

Thats BS she thought thats what her taxes were, tornado or not. Is she absent during discussions about high taxes? [[Im sure people present examples) . We all know about thouse bouncing tornado's that hits one house in a whole city.

I think her wig's too tight.

[n7hn]

Oh, and if she thought that $68 was correct she is an idiot and shouldnt be in public office.

If she knew it was wrong [[and she did) then she shouldnt be in public office for being a scammer and cheat.