“Today I stand with my neighbors of the historic Russell Woods-Sullivan Area Association. At this moment, we are currently in a foreclosure crisis. There are 62,000 homes facing foreclosure in the city of Detroit. In Russell Woods, where I grew up and still live today, we face 300 foreclosures alone, which would have a devastating effect on this community. These homes may become subject to blight, crime and a host of other issues. As you can imagine, this is something that personally affects me and every one of my neighbors. We, the citizens of Russell Woods-Sullivan Area Association, are pleading with city, county and other state officials to come together and find a solution to a problem which could create hundreds of homeless families in our community alone.
“With the legislation that passed in December 2014, our local governments can and should provide additional time to advise our residents facing foreclosure about options that can help them keep their home. All options should be examined, particularly reassessing homes that have been over-valued in our city for years, causing exorbitant taxes and the current crisis facing us today. I urge all our civic leaders examine the process in which we assess our homes, and plea for more time to ensure that we are able to develop a fair, equitable and comprehensive plan to deal with the unfair tax burdens of our citizens and delinquent taxes. I am optimistic that as our civic leaders can come together on this issue, we can accomplish this goal.”