Detroit's Property Tax System Plagued By Mistakes, Waste

Problems Pile Up With City's Property Tax System
DETROIT, MI - MARCH 23: A realtor's sign sits in front of a boarded up house next to an occupied home in a Detroit neighborhood March 23, 2011. The new census figures show that Detroit has lost 25 percent of its population in the last ten years, bringing the city's population down to its lowest since 1910. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - MARCH 23: A realtor's sign sits in front of a boarded up house next to an occupied home in a Detroit neighborhood March 23, 2011. The new census figures show that Detroit has lost 25 percent of its population in the last ten years, bringing the city's population down to its lowest since 1910. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Detroit -- The city's property tax system is riddled with errors and waste, and is overseen by a pair of double-dipping officials who work just two days a week, a Detroit News investigation has found.

Tax bills are frequently sent to the wrong address, and homeowner exemptions that dramatically lower bills are granted without proof of eligibility, a recent audit found. Police are investigating the disappearance of nearly $310,000 in cash that went missing over five years from the Assessment Division.

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