Since it launched in 2020, the City of Detroit’s Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), as part of the CFE Fund’s national FEC Public initiative, has had a special focus on assisting homeowners at risk of property tax foreclosure. Working with the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office and the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, the City’s FEC joined a property tax relief ecosystem that is complex and constantly evolving, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CFE Fund contracted with MEF Associates to conduct a study exploring the effects of the relationship between Detroit’s property tax relief programs and FEC financial counseling. The study combined original qualitative research with analysis of administrative data to explore sustainable homeownership outcomes experienced by clients participating in FEC counseling, the factors that influence those outcomes, and other questions to inform future programming and the broader field.