Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson (pictured right) paid only $68 in property taxesthis year because city records say her well-kept, brick Tudor-stylehome doesn’t exist. Although the home has occupied its west-side plotsince 1926, city records have classified the parcel as an empty lot forthe past decade.
Watson said she was unaware of the discrepancy until the Free Presscontacted her. She said the change came before she was elected to CityCouncil — and without her involvement.
“I pay the taxes. All I know is I had a big drop when my house got hit hard by a tornado,” she said. “We had great damage.”
Watson said she could not recall the specific date the tornado hit, saying it might have been 2002, or perhaps 1993.
She acknowledged, however, that she never reported the incident.National Weather Service meteorologists said the last tornadoes to hitDetroit occurred in 1996 and 1997 — before Watson says her taxes werereduced because of what she called “the natural disaster.”
Watson,who said she receives her property tax bill separate from her mortgagebill, said she never questioned why her taxes dropped — or why theydidn’t increase after she repaired her home.
“Ifit’s an amount that’s been determined by the people who are in thebusiness of assessing … and you pay that, then what’s the issue?” sheasked.
Watson’s neighbors in comparable homes pay $2,000 to $6,500 in taxes. “My house has always been there,” she said.
On Friday morning, Watson entered the city tax assessor’s office and asked for a review of her tax bill.
Neighbor: ‘Wow! I’m shocked’
Sincejoining the City Council six years ago, insisting that Detroit get itsfair share has been one of Watson’s signature issues.
On Sept. 29, for example, Watson was the only council member tovote against a tax break for General Motors Corp. in return forbuilding the Chevrolet Volt at its Poletown assembly plant.