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Blighted Homes More Than An Eyesore For City Residents

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit homeowners say they pay taxes and they want the grass cut and blighted buildings torn down.

Councilman James Tate encouraged the home owners to voice support for five proposed bills that will give the city power to go after owners who don't take care of their property.

"It gives the city an opportunity to go after, to garnish the wages, of those individuals who have failed to address their blight issues at their property. We are talking about those folks who own 20 to 30 properties in our community and all of them look the same," said Tate. "They don't care and they are going to continue to do it until we put a stop to it."

WWJ Newsradio 950's Florence Walton was there as State Representative John Olumba ushered in to City Council homeowners from his northeast Detroit district who are fed up with the burned out and abandoned homes and lots that are overgrown with grass.

"From the area that I represent and we have a number of different community organizations and heads of organizations and people who live in those areas who have been very concerned with respect to the abandoned, open, and badly burned buildings," said Olumba.

The group is asking the city to cut the grass and take down the abandoned buildings.

One 75-year-old man says that he's been cutting the grass at surrounding abandoned homes for years.

The city's demolition budget is empty and funds for grass cutting have been severely cut due to Detroit's budget crisis.

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