Get a new NEZ

[O3H]

The city’s Office of the Assessor is sending letters to 2,800 residents whose certificates will expire in the next five years to inform them of the opportunity to apply for a new NEZ-Homestead certificate when their certificate expires.

https://detroitmi.gov/node/19606

[Meddle]

How about just lowering property taxes to a sane level and dropping all the exemptions?

[poobert]

How about just lowering property taxes to a sane level and dropping all the exemptions?

Yes.

With all the talk of right-sizing the city, this was probably the most concrete and practically-adopted method though. When I lived in EEV, NEZ was a big selling point. So the city was able to use it as a tool to stabilize stable, if faltering, neighborhoods. Or, if you like, pick winners and losers.

I feel like that has been accomplished though. Except for, say, Warrendale, those neighborhoods have mostly stabilized in the wake of the foreclosure crisis [[at the time, one wondered if EEV was going to be the next Gratiot and Houston Whittier, for example).

So I think, yeah, the strategy should change. I think we're going to see a lot of interest further southwest and the near eastside as well, where we may not have expected ten years ago, too.

[Luke09]

How about just lowering property taxes to a sane level and dropping all the exemptions?

I'm all for this, but I guessing property values need to continue to rise for another 5 or 10 years before that gets done

[Meddle]

Makes no sense. Why lower property taxes in some targeted areas temporarily in hopes of attracting some buyers instead of lowering taxes city wide to attract a more wide range of buyers?

Then you save money on the administration of special zones. Cut the exemptions and special rules, then cut the overhead of trying to maintain it all.

[Meddle]

You need police, fire, EMS, streetlights and so on. You don't need multiple levels of administrators and paper pushers manipulating numbers and tax rules.

[Richard]

We look at things day to day or in the span of our personal lifetime.

A city has to operate day to day,year to year and plan on 20,40,50 years down the road,when they stop looking ahead you get what you have.

The seeds planted 50 60 years ago brought you to where you are today so now it is on you guys to plant the seeds where some will not produce until 50 years down the road,it is harder now because you get to play 50 years of catch up.

It sucks and it is hard but for what it is worth,you guys are doing a pretty good job in a short amount of time.

Most of these cities that everybody likes to compare Detroit to,30 years ago they were in the same boat.

The city has X amount of dollars collected,it can either spread it citywide to everybody where it becomes so thin there is no impact,or it can target certain areas systematically on a more focused point with enough funds to make a difference,then pick another section the next year.

[SammyS]

You need police, fire, EMS, streetlights and so on. You don't need multiple levels of administrators and paper pushers manipulating numbers and tax rules.

Absolutely. Run Detroit like a business. Seek efficiency, cut out redundancy.

[Danny]

They better hurry before gentrification owners gobbled your ghettos.