Why Taxpayer University Exists
Wayne County has spent the last decade building one of the most effective property tax foreclosure prevention programs in the country. Under Treasurer Eric Sabree, foreclosures dropped from roughly 26,000 in 2014 to 3,610 today. That progress is real and documented, but the data collected along the way revealed something that changed how the program thinks about intervention.
Of the 3,709 households that received financial assistance over that period, 18% returned to foreclosure within an average of 6.5 years. These were families who had received real help, an average of $10,867 in benefits, and still ended up back in the same position. The pattern was consistent enough that it could not be ignored. One time financial relief, without anything to change the underlying conditions that led to delinquency in the first place, was not producing lasting stability.
That finding became the foundation for Taxpayer University. If the data showed that relief alone fails, then education had to become a mandatory part of the intervention, not an optional add on. Every participant in the Homeownership Preservation Initiative now completes Taxpayer University before any funds are released. The curriculum was built around the specific knowledge gaps the recidivism data pointed to, how property taxes work, what exemptions exist, how to plan for future bills, and how to build the financial habits that keep a household current long term.
Wayne County is the first jurisdiction in the United States to build a foreclosure prevention program around this kind of longitudinal recidivism data. Taxpayer University is what that research made necessary.
Eric Sabree
Wayne County Treasurer
Eric R. Sabree has served as Wayne County Treasurer since April 2016, representing 43 municipalities and overseeing the receipt, custody, investment, and disbursement of all county funds, with a particular focus on the collection of delinquent property taxes. As lead instructor for Taxpayer University, he brings that experience directly into the classroom, teaching homeowners the same systems and strategies his office works with every day.
Treasurer Sabree holds an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan, the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Before becoming Treasurer, he served Wayne County as Deputy Treasurer, Chief Deputy Treasurer, and Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel, and prior to that managed his own law practice and built a long career in public service with the City of Detroit.
Since taking office, Treasurer Sabree has led Wayne County to an 88% reduction in property tax foreclosures, bringing the annual portfolio from roughly 26,000 properties in 2014 to 3,610 today. Under his leadership, Wayne County developed the first 10 year longitudinal recidivism dataset for any property tax foreclosure prevention program in the United States, proving that one time financial relief without education and behavioral support fails long term. That research became the foundation for the Homeownership Preservation Initiative and Taxpayer University.
Our Mission
Our mission is to help homeowners understand the property tax system and the important role it plays in supporting our communities. We believe that education creates confidence, and that every homeowner deserves access to clear, straightforward information about property taxes and homeownership. When homeowners understand how the system works, they are better prepared to protect their homes and make informed decisions about their future. At Taxpayer University, we are committed to making property tax education accessible and easy to understand so that no homeowner is left behind.
Through the collaborative support of
Taxpayer University operates through a network of public and private partners committed to keeping Wayne County families in their homes. Together these organizations provide the support that makes this initiative possible.