Property Tax Bill Confusion in Detroit

DETROIT (WJBK) - If you have to pay property taxes to the City of Detroit, chances are you may be a little confused. A mix-up in the finance department caused problems with resident's bills. On top of that, taxes are due by law on the 15th and that's a Saturday.

The bulk of the calls and the complaints have been coming to the City of Detroit Ombudsman Office. In fact, there have been 2,000 phone calls and visits in just the past three weeks.

Some people have said they've gotten two different tax bills with two different interest rates, while others have said they didn't get a bill at all.

"I didn't get anything mailed. No. So, I had to come from East Lansing for this because I thought did somebody take the houses from me? Did something happen? You hear about fraudulent deeds, and I thought why didn't I get the taxes? It would've saved me a trip in the winter," said Daria Schlega.

She spent more than a hundred dollars on gas alone driving from East Lansing to Detroit where she owns rental property. Schlega, like many others, didn't get her property tax bills in the mail.

"One tax bill interest rate is high. One is low," said Joel Topey. "It's confusing, man. I'm frustrated right now."

Topey who lives on the west side. He got two property tax bills, one with a lower interest rate and then a corrected version, and then the deadline to pay is the 15th. However, that's not going to work this year, and neither will a few of the days following it.

"The 15th falls on a Saturday. Sunday is the 16th. Monday is the 17th, that's Martin Luther King's day. Tuesday is a furlough day for the city, so the people actually have until the 19th," said Detroit Ombudsman Durene Brown.

She said the mistakes along with the confusion on the due date have people packing city hall.

Many people in the 48227 and 48228 zip codes didn't get a bill at all. Inexcusable, Brown said.

"Instead of us having the perception that Detroiters do that we're deadbeats, we don't pay our bills, these are people who are beating down the door trying to pay their bills," she said.

It's not just frustrating. This error could be dangerous.

"There is a risk of foreclosure here. Someone could lose their home over $15. If you don't pay your taxes, then the collection, it goes into delinquency over to the county," Brown said.

Although the official deadline is January 15th, it has been extended because of the weekend, the holiday and a furlough day until January 19th. That is the last day to pay your property taxes.