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Wayne County Treasurer's Office hosts Senior Town Hall

Thursday, April 25, 2019- The Wayne County Treasurer's Office (WCTO) hosted a Senior Town Hall event at Plymouth United Church of Christ. During the event, Treasurer Sabree sat down with community members and discussed how the WCTO could best assist senior citizens. Some of the community partners in attendance at the event included Oak Street Health, the Detroit Agency on Aging, DivDat, the City of Detroit Board of Review and the Parks and Recreation department. All of the agencies provided attendees with information about their programs and services.

Treasurer Sabree discussed programs available to senior citizens, and he mentioned reasons why a taxpayer's property may or may not become foreclosed. Sabree also discussed the Tax Foreclosure Auction. He stated there would be a webinar to explain the auction process in the future.

During the event, Willie C. Donwell, administrator/chairman, Property Assessment Board of Review spoke about the assessment process, and how it works. He also explained that often the board is unaware of the human factors that can determine a person's ability to pay a delinquent tax bill. He then discussed the purpose of the Principal Residence Exemption (PRE). He explained in an owner-occupied property, a resident can have their millage reduced through a PRE. However, when a PRE expires (unless renewed), the millage rate returns to what it was at the last point of sale.

Community residents also asked questions about what is being done to get information out to seniors.

Ms. Beverlyn Hilton, community outreach director of the WCTO, answered questions about the planned community ambassador program. She explained that the WCTO is reaching out to representatives in all of the cities and municipalities in Wayne County as well as at churches, block clubs, and community organizations to provide training and education to those representatives so they can inform taxpayers about foreclosure prevention options available.

Among the other guests in attendance included Wayne County Commissioner District 2, Jewel Ware, Reverend Nicholas Hood III, DivDat CEO Bob Walters, and Nancy Capers from the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department.

The WCTO outreach team attends block club meetings and numerous community events every week. If you're interested in having a representative from our office present at your event, please fill out the form below.

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