Detroit and Flint, Michigan are getting yet another boondoggle that if you read between the lines is a giveaway of federal dollars that’s happened over and over with next to no results. This is how Detroit does things. They go to the feds with their hand out and get money over and over. Remember “Quid Pro Quo”: Detroit Council Member Joann Watson: Obama Should Bail Out Detroit in Quid Pro Quo for Votes:
The problem is that many times the money doesn’t get to the right people. Here are just a few examples:
Report: Detroit’s Human Services Dept. wrongfully spent $210,000 grant on really stupid furniture
The blight removal has been controversial because of the inflated cost:
Despite Detroit’s Controversial #BlightScandal, Liberals Demand Billions More In Taxpayer Aid
The Detroit Public Schools just had a scandal where a school principal was scamming millions out of the budget:
Detroit Public Schools principals, officials face bribery charges
If you think the millions just given to these two cities will go to what it’s meant for, I’ve got some swampland in Florida to sell you. The taxpayers need to know about this and call out the elected officials who’re doing this either to line their pockets or to win votes. Do we REALLY need millions upon millions for “mortgage assistance”? This is wrong and needs to stop.
Michigan originally received $498 million from the Hardest Hit Fund when the program was announced in 2010 in response to the housing crisis that led to unprecedented home price declines and high unemployment. The $74.5 million brings Michigan’s total to $572.5 million in federal funding for blight removal and mortgage assistance.
The government awarded an additional $74.5 million in “Hardest Hit” funds to Michigan to help stabilize the housing market in the state. Detroit will get $41.9 million for for demolition purposes.
Flint will get $13.9 million for demolition purposes, and the remaining $18.6 million will go to help homeowners struggling under the weight of expensive or underwater mortgages.
“These funds have been critical in helping people stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure while helping Detroit, Flint and other cities across our state eliminate blight and revitalize neighborhoods,” Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement Monday.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the announcement of the state’s share of the $2 billion in additional Hardest Hit funds — a $7.6-billion program which was set to expire at the end of 2017 — will help the city continue tearing down blighted structures. The program has already devoted $130 million to Detroit for blight removal.
“This is more great news for the city of Detroit’s blight removal efforts. Thanks to this new round of funding, we will be able continue our efforts to take down vacant buildings at a rate faster than anywhere in the country,” Duggan said in a statement. “In just the past two years, we’ve demolished more than 8,000 dangerous structures.”
The city also has applied for another expansion of its federal Hardest Hit Fund zones and “If this expansion is approved, more than 90 percent of Detroiters will live in neighborhoods that are eligible for demolition using these funds,” Duggan added.
In February, the federal government announced an additional $2 billion investment in the Hardest Hit Fund program. Funding is being allocated among participating states in two phases of $1 billion each. Today’s funding is from the first of those two phases.
Michigan originally received $498 million from the Hardest Hit Fund when the program was announced in 2010 in response to the housing crisis that led to unprecedented home price declines and high unemployment. The $74.5 million brings Michigan’s total to $572.5 million in federal funding for blight removal and mortgage assistance.
The new mortgage assistance dollars will aid homeowners who may be struggling with a hardship. The Step Forward Michigan online application portal, which closed on Dec. 31, 2015, is expected to reopen next month with the infusion of $18.6 million.
Via: DFP
