| No fair trying to play "Name That Party"; this is Detroit and Republicans don't exist in Detroit ... |
Watson said she was unaware of the discrepancy until the Free Press contacted her. She said the change came before she was elected to City Council -- and without her involvement.
Watson's neighbors in comparable homes pay $2,000 to $6,500 in taxes. "My house has always been there," she said.
Watson's failure to realize she was paying significantly less than she should is noteworthy because she occasionally admonishes city officials for not being more diligent in collecting outstanding property taxes. She says the city needs that money to reduce its deficit, which recent estimates put at close to $300 million.
Watson, who is paid $81,000 a year and gets a city-owned Ford Crown Victoria, said her taxes are paid in full. She said it never occurred to her that her tax bill was a fraction of what it should have been.
Currently, assessors calculate the property's value at $1,658 because they consider it a vacant lot.
| Now that it's been pointed out, is she going to make good on the discrepancy or will she weasel out? Sure wish the Free Press would ask her that one. |