This Tax Day, making the case for property tax reform in Detroit

  Ineffective property tax systems can have a detrimental community impact. They weaken the delivery of services that improve quality of life for local residents – from essential functions like public safety, to supportive services like enforcement of property maintenance standards. Many of the cities that we work in face a shrinking population, widespread property…

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Charting a new way forward through attorney-practitioner partnerships: Part II —Milwaukee

This is the second in a two-part series exploring how strong working partnerships between practitioners and attorneys can give rise to innovation in the work to reclaim and revitalize blighted properties. Missed Part I—Syracuse? Click here >> Let’s give ourselves a little breathing room In Milwaukee, a productive partnership between Gregg Hagopian, assistant city attorney,…

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Property tax madness: Another part of the Detroit puzzle

There are many reasons that Detroit has filed for bankruptcy, and some have already been explored by others on Rooflines. Detroit’s problems have accumulated over decades, and are a paradigm of the trajectory of dozens of cities in the United States undone by suburbanization, flight to the Sunbelt, deindustrialization, and a political system that rewarded all three.…

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Efficient property tax collections vs. the cult of homeownership

Cross-posted from Next City, this article is part of the 2013 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference liveblog series. Check out all the in-depth content — even if you weren’t able to join us in Philadelphia from September 9-11, 2013, you’ll feel like you did! This morning’s session “Making the Case for Efficient, Effective and Equitable Tax Foreclosure Reform” raised…

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