Wayne County has extended deadlines for people paying property taxes and submitting claims for profits from property auctions.
The extension follows Monday afternoon bomb threats that forced the evacuation of the Wayne County Treasurer’s Greektown office as Detroiters were lining up to file taxes and claims before the original deadline.
As a result, the county is extending its deadlines to April 8 for residents.
"Everyone is safe, and there are no active threats," Treasurer Eric Sabree said in a social media statement.
More than 100 people were reportedly in line at the time — some to pay their property taxes, others to claim money they are owed after Wayne County illegally profited from auctioning their foreclosed properties.
The claims stem from a 2023 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that counties can no longer keep surplus funds from tax foreclosure sales. The decision followed the Rafaeli v. Oakland County case, in which a homeowner sued after the county seized his property, sold it for more than he owed, and kept the extra money.
"They lost their homes, and there was more paid for it at tax auction than what was owed on it. So they could apply for getting the overage back themselves," said Ted Phillips, executive director of the United Community Housing Coalition.
Phillips believes the deadline extension will bring relief to many residents.
"Hopefully, with a few more days, some of those others can also get resolutions," he said. "They can look at some of the various payment plans that might be done, where they can pay ... and be pulled out of foreclosure based on that. So it's good that there's still time to be able to do those things."
The extension applies to all residents, regardless of whether they were in line when the building was evacuated.
