Thursday, November 29, 2007

Preliminary Report On Mayors Meeting on Foreclosures in Detroit


On November 27, Mayor Kaplan was invited to participate with a group of other Mayors to work on the growing problem about ever increasing foreclosures that are occurring throughout the US. The meeting was organized by the US Conference of Mayors, and many major lenders were in attendance, along with federal officials and national organizations. Together we made progress on this growing problem, which does have a major impact in Florida.

A more complete report will follow, and the Mayor will be giving a report at the Commission Meeting on December 10, which will be televised on Comcast Cable TV. In the meantime, the Mayor had sent to the Residents of Lauderhill the following e-mail:


Dear Residents of Lauderhill,

This is a follow up to my prior e-mail concerning the foreclosure crisis. The Miami Herald has the following link that summarizes the results from the meeting:
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/AP/story/322204.html

To say it was not very nice all of the time was a bit of an understatement, which is why it was decided, at the request of the lenders, to have it closed to the public. However, the results, we believe, will be positive for the country, and for Lauderhill.

In about a week, I will post an article on my blog:
www.elauderhillnews.com, providing much needed information and details that came from this meeting. For right now, there is a contact number for those with mortgage problems which was set up, it is 888-995-HOPE to talk to a counselor. They will help to avoid foreclosures. No one need be blamed for having difficulties. Good people have problems, and this cuts across all demographic groups. With proper early assistance, we will be able to prevent many foreclosures and deterioration of our community.

Just so you know, Florida will suffer an $80 Billion reduction in state wide property value this year, which will also have a negative impact on property tax revenues. Country wide, it is over $1 Trillion. Also, Florida is only second to California in the number of foreclosures. The peak for this problem, relating to sub prime and adjustment mortgages, causing a spike in payments and foreclosures, is expected in May of 2008.

The Mayors, who took the lead on this issue earlier this year in Los Angeles, of which I was a part of, will be continuing this process and are planning another meeting, tentatively for January in DC, at the US Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting. It is hoped at that meeting we will be able to engage members of Wall Street who are also major players in this problem.

Participating in this meeting, by invitation only, were 7 core Mayors and 3 other Mayors that were able to attend a portion. The President of the Conference, Mayor Palmer from Trenton, the chair of the committee, Mayor Kilpatrick from Detroit, Past President of the Conference, Mayor Abramson of Louisville, KY, the Mayor of Lansing, Michigan, the Mayor of Columbus, Ohio, the Mayor of Bowling Green, KY, and myself were primarily driving this process. Also in attendance with the Mayors, and many of the nations largest lenders, were non-profit organizations working in this area, with Federal and State Officials.

I hope this information will be of assistance to those that are experiencing this problem, and for those that know of others who are, please let them know.

Very Truly Yours,

Richard J. Kaplan
Mayor, City of Lauderhill


To see video clips of TV interviews (from a live Bloomberg TV interview and a local TV news show) on this meeting, you can click the following links:

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