DETROIT – Wayne County taxpayers are going to want to take a look at their home valuations and check what this bill might be.
The owner of a $100,000 home might expect an extra $62 in taxes tacked on to their tax bills. It may not sound like a lot of money but many in Wayne County can't afford the taxes they already have.
Here's why this is happening:
Back in 2010, then Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano opted not to pay "13th checks" to pensioners, as a way to balance the budget. The county's employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), sued to prevent that. Though it took four years, AFSCME won.
This past Friday, a judge ordered the county to pay $49 million. It has 48 hours to do so.
On Tuesday, the Wayne County Commission met to hear a solution from new county Executive Warren Evans' team. Their solution is to add the tax this summer mainly because the county is broke and this is not in the budget.
Judge Richard Kaufman represented the Evans administration.
"We don't have the money. You can't plug a hole/deficit by creating a hole and a deficit," said Kaufman. "The county has been insolvent, has been technically insolvent since February 2011."
Wayne County Commission Chair Gary Woronchak shot back in a fashion that shows the deep divide here.
"It's unthinkable to me. That's how strongly I feel about this. It's unthinkable that we would put this on the tax bills of every taxpayer in Wayne County this summer," said Woronchak.
The County Commission will vote Thursday on how to move forward. It appears the commission is in no mood to tack on an extra tax.