Tagged: wayne county

Four new laws are going into effect in 2013 that will dramatically increase penalties for arson in Michigan.

The laws revise sentencing guidelines to give courts more latitude to hand down longer prison terms.

Wayne County has finished the first round of what’s been called the "world's largest property auction."

The county is trying to get rid of more than 22,000 tax-foreclosed properties by auction. More than 20,000 of them are in Detroit.

But despite the glut of vacant properties, housing prices are headed up in certain areas of the city. Bob Dorsey is chief analytics-officer with F.N.C., which tracks housing prices nationwide every month.

"We've noticed that there are certain neighborhoods that have done extremely well, and others that have are still very flat or even declining," said Dorsey.

Dorsey said many investors see money in an expanding rental market in Detroit, and nationwide. Leaders in Detroit’s downtown and midtown areas say housing demand now out-paces supply there.

Last Tuesday, the Detroit Institute of Arts got a major vote of confidence from area voters when they approved a millage request to fund the museum. Taxpayer support means the museum will have a stable source of funding for the next ten years.

The next day, the museum was free to the residents in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties.

Today, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that when Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano imposed 20 percent pay cuts on county workers, he was acting within his rights, reports the Detroit Free Press.

Grosse Pointe Shores' City Council is considering whether or not to move the city into Macomb County's jurisdiction.

The city, home to only about 3,000 residents, straddles the Macomb-Wayne County border. Most of the city is in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, while part is in Macomb County. A law from the 1970s allows communities in this position to choose one county in which it wishes to officially reside.

According to the city's website, research revealed that Macomb County taxes are nearly four mills lower than Wayne County taxes, and that the city "receives virtually no direct services from the tax dollars [residents] pay to Wayne County." Calculations by the Grosse Pointe Shores Move to Macomb Committee show the city could save $1 million in taxes if they decide to shift into Macomb County.

On Aug. 21, the City Council will decide if the question will go to voters in November, reports the Detroit News. In order to make the move, voters in Wayne and Macomb counties would also need to approve the idea.

-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom

One of Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s top deputies has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes.

Tahir Kazmi was Ficano’s former Chief Information Technology Officer. He admitted in court that he took bribes in the form of cash, plane tickets and other perks from a Wayne County contractor. In exchange, Kazmi gave the company preferential treatment on county jobs.

He also admitted to obstructing justice during the FBI investigation into his crimes.

In return for his guilty plea, Kazmi has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing federal investigation into Wayne County corruption.

Kazmi is one of several former Wayne County employees who face federal indictments for alleged corrupt activities. But he’s the first to plead guilty, and to offer to cooperate with authorities.

Political circles across the state remain stunned by the very public self-destruction of former Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, from the white-collar Wayne County suburb of Livonia.

Yet it seems to me that while many people know the basic facts of his decline and fall, most don’t understand the true consequences of what he’s done. I’ll get to that in a moment.

But first consider this. A year ago, McCotter was a man with an essentially safe seat in Congress who had launched a long-shot campaign for President.

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano says department heads will have to implement deep cuts.

But department heads are rebelling, and one has already threatened to sue.

In a 2-year budget plan, Ficano says all county departments will have to absorb a 20% budget cut if the Wayne County is to avoid fiscal disaster.

He says property tax revenues have plummeted, and the county faces a $155 million dollar accumulated deficit.

Before giving Wayne County the go-ahead on an unorthodox deficit reduction plan, the state wants peruse the county's books.

According to John Wisely at the Detroit Free Press, Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon is taking bids from accounting firms to perform the audit. Auditors would look at discrepancies in spending and budgeting along with the timing of certain transactions.

Officials in Lansing are on the lookout for anything fishy because the plan would involve state money.

More from the Freep:

Last month, the county proposed eliminating its deficit by sending unused state grant money, for things like roads and mental health programs, back to the state. It wants the state to return a similar amount to the county unrestricted, meaning it could be used to eliminate the deficit instead of funding the programs spelled out in the legislation.

Wayne County has a cumulative deficit of $155 million and faces declining revenues in its latest budget cycle.

-John Klein Wilson, Michigan Radio Newsroom