Brooks, Meisner differ on land bank

[MichMatters]

Brooks, Meisner differ on land bank

By CHARLES CRUMM - Oakland Press

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner are pretty far apart politically.

Patterson, in his fifth fouryear term as county executive, is a Republican.

Meisner, who recently completed his first six months in office, is a Democrat.

And, when it comes to the issue of creating a local government land bank to deal with a glut of foreclosed and abandoned properties in the county, the two are equally far apart.

...

"The stubborn refusal to adopt this best practice and collaborate with our neighbors cost Oakland County $20 million,” Meisner said Friday, noting the money could rehab or demolish hundreds of abandoned structures.

“We can start an Oakland County land bank without using one penny of Oakland County taxpayer dollars because the federal government has seen it as such a problem that they’re giving us this money,” Meisner said.

Meisner said the need is there, pointing to more than 8,000 mortgage foreclosures in 2009 and another 6,800 properties in some stage of the tax foreclosure process.

...

Patterson said Oakland County already performs land bank functions with neighborhood stabilization money through the county’s Community and Home Improvement Division, using the money to demolish or rehabilitate structures and place low-income people into homes.

“We don’t need a land bank, and we can’t afford Andy’s little toy called a land bank,” said Patterson, arguing that a Genesee County land bank costs $750,000 a year, not including staff salaries.

...


Patterson said Meisner has only been in office six months and needs to better understand the county system.

“He really doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he’s really pretty uninformed,” Patterson said.

Meisner, for his part, takes a more conciliatory posture.

“We do our best work when we work together,” said Meisner. “That is what the people of Oakland County want us to do.

“Let’s huddle up again, and let’s talk about what the facts are, and let’s get this done and do it in a bipartisan way,” Meisner said.

You know, I don't fault Patterson for being ideologically opposed to this, though, to be honest, I think he's in total denial about the amount of abandoned and vacant properties his county has grown in the past decade or two. He's within some kind of legitimate argument to oppose this to keep county government small.

What I don't understand is his completely rude and dismissive tone towards Meisner, someone he probably barely even knows. It's not like they are bitter rivals with a history, or anything. While he never puts anything lightly, this seems unnecessarily condescending even for him, doesn't it?

Again, I do think Patterson is delusional when it comes to his thinking that Oakland County is essentially too good for a land bank. Land banks are never something you want to have to admit to needing, but has this guy been south of 14 Mile, lately? The writing has been on the walls for some years now. If he thinks his Community and Home Improvement Division is enough to tackle the problem, or has been tackling it adequately, he's sadly mistaken.