Detroit Residents at Risk of Losing Their Homes Given Stay of Execution

Thousands of Detroiters were granted a reprieve from the city’s tax foreclosure crisis this week, as the Wayne County treasurers office extended the deadline for those behind on their property taxes by one month. The city now faces an economic crisis of a different kind: tens of thousands of its residents cannot afford to pay the taxes on their homes, leading to what activists have called a “conveyer belt” of tax foreclosures, that some fear could further hollow out the city’s already-beleaguered neighborhoods. On Tuesday, hundreds filled up the treasurer’s office in downtown Detroit, carrying manilla envelopes and folders filled with their property information, and holding out hope they could work something out with the county.