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Photo by
HB
Meeks/Tell
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Detroit
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Wayne
County
Treasurer
Eric
Sabree
releases
statement
in
response
to
inaccurate
reports
DETROIT,
MI -
Over the
last
several
days
there
have
been
numerous
media
reports
regarding
allegations
that the
Auction
Policy
of the
Office
of the
Treasurer
was
violated
by my
family
members
who
participated
in the
auction
in 2011.
I have
been
consistent
in
stating
there
was no
policy
violation
due to
the fact
that the
Treasurer’s
office
did not
conduct
the
public
auctions
in the
years
2011,
2012 and
2013.
In 2011,
the
auctions
were
conducted
by
Bid4Assets,
Inc.
under
contract
to the
Wayne
County
Treasurer.
To be
clear
and
specific
the
Auction
Rule
States:
“Current
contractors
of the
Treasurer,
their
employees,
and
current
employees
of the
Wayne
County
Treasurer,
members
of the
immediate
family
of
contractors,
or
Treasurer
employees
including
children,
parents,
grandparents,
siblings,
aunts,
uncles,
nieces,
nephews
and
first
cousins
are
strictly
prohibited
from
participating
directly
or
indirectly,
in the
bidding
and
purchasing
by any
means,
including
and not
limited
to,
joint
ventures,
or
assignments
of any
foreclosed
property
to be
sold at
an
auction
conducted
by the
Treasurer.”
The
key fact
is the
last
auction
my
family
participated
in was
2011 and
that
auction
was NOT
conducted
by the
Treasurer
but by
an
independent
private
company
that had
complete
control
over the
entire
auction
process.
Therefore,
the
policy
that is
in place
today
did not
apply
then
since it
was not
conducted
by the
Treasurer.
We
welcome
the
Wayne
County
Commission’s
expedited
audit
review
and
County
Executive’s
ethics
review.
We fully
agree
that
there
must be
total
transparency
in this
office
and in
all
county
operations.
This has
been a
media
generated
issue
that
brings
into
question
perception
concerns.
We
strive
to be
totally
transparent
and
beyond
reproach
in all
our
actions.
We
have
conducted
this
office
with
complete
transparency
since I
took
over in
2016. In
fact,
two
years
ago I
appointed
Melanie
Kersey,
a former
FBI
Special
Agent
with
25-years
of
experience,
as my
Chief
Deputy.
We have
reduced
foreclosures
by 85%
over the
past
three
years –
saving
over
50,000
properties
from
foreclosure.
Our
mission
and
focus
remains
on
keeping
people
in their
homes,
continuing
to
reduce
foreclosures
and
serving
all
taxpayers
in the
43
municipalities
that
comprise
Wayne
County.
I will
continue
to work
hard to
help
individuals
and
their
families
who are
struggling
to avoid
foreclosure
in our
county.
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