A citywide coalition is preparing an ordinance for Detroit Council consideration that would allow willing neighborhoods to assess a fee on property owners to supplement services their government is struggling to provide: crime prevention, snow removal and mosquito abatement.The ordinance, according to Karen Johnson Moore of the Grandmont Rosedale Neighborhood Development Corporation, would allow neighborhoods whose residents approve to hire private contractors for those services while potentially boosting city revenue through a likely increase in property taxes.


While the coalition includes residents from some of the city's healthiest areas, many of whom already pool voluntary resources for private security, the ordinance will allow any neighborhood with willing residents to form a special assessment district to pay for a supplemental service-level of their choosing.
"We don't want it to be just a Northwest Detroit idea, but something that's good for all neighborhoods," said Moore, whose Grandmont-Rosedale group is working with other community organizations around the city.

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