CHICAGO - Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said up to 75% of the city's residential properties could see their assessments drop by 10% or 20% as part of a major re-assessment program.
The reassessment is expected to mean a decline in property tax revenue, a decline that's built into the city's 10-year restructuring plan crafted as part of its bankruptcy. But property tax collections are coming in higher than expected because people view the new system as more fair, Duggan said during a press conference Wednesday.
"When we assess people honestly, a lot more start paying taxes, which is going to mean a significant reduction in foreclosures and that cycle we've been at over and over," Duggan said.
Nearly half of Detroit homeowners do not pay their property taxes.
About half of the city's homes will see 10% cuts in their assessments and nearly a quarter will see 20% reductions, according to the mayor's office. Some neighborhoods that are starting to stabilize will not see any cuts, the mayor said.
Detroit officials want to spend the next two years reassessing every single property in the city for the first time in 50 years. Many residential properties have long been considered overassessed in the wake of the 2009 foreclosure crisis and the city's bankruptcy.
