Detroit City Council members recently praised Deputy Chief Financial Officer/Assessor Alvin Horhn for breaking the city’s ethics rules, saying he did so for the right reasons.
The Board of Ethics determined that Horhn violated two sections of the Detroit City Code: Willful neglect of duty and improper use of official position. The board concluded last November after an investigation that Horhn didn’t fine property owners who purchased at least 13,500 Detroit Land Bank Authority properties and failed to file property transfer paperwork as required by law.
The board published a public admonishment last December, which punished Horhn with a letter outlining his ethical lapse. Horhn told the council during a hearing this week that he would do it again.
Horhn said the land bank told buyers that it would file property transfer affidavits with the Assessor’s Office, though that’s the responsibility of buyers, and the land bank failed to do so.
“At the start of the Side Lot program, we worked with the assessor’s office to agree on a process for sharing property transfer affidavit data,” DLBA Director of Planning and Analysis Rob Linn said in an email. “From 2014 through 2021, this involved bulk data transfers due to the program’s scale. While this approach initially made sense, we did encounter some data alignment challenges over time. After reviewing the process, we shifted to a more effective system where buyers file (affidavits) directly, with individual follow-ups as needed.”
Horhn said he acted to protect property owners from being fined because the land bank didn’t uphold its end of the deal. Horhn said his decision to break ethics rules also saved the City Council and mayor from potential blowback.
“(Residents) would have been in the mayor’s office; they would have been before this honorable body screaming ‘what is the assessor thinking?’” Horhn said during a Jan. 7 committee hearing.
“The point of government is to serve the citizens, no one can convince me that we’ll serve the citizens of this city by handing them a tax bill that never should have been generated,” he added. “If someone wants to say that’s an ethical violation — I didn’t benefit from this. This is crap.”
District 3 Council Member Scott Benson warned Horhn not to disparage the Board of Ethics but thanked him for taking a “common sense” action even if it violated the charter. Benson said Horhn acted to save residents “an unwanted headache.”
“It may not have been in compliance with the law, but I believe the property owners will appreciate that,” Benson said.
The properties were purchased between 2014 through 2020, according to the Board of Ethics, and were mostly vacant side lots purchased for $100 to $250. BridgeDetroit submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain more details on the purchasers and property types involved.
Horhn said property owners would have faced fines that cost more than what they bought the land for. Horhn said he didn’t gain anything from waiving fees that he estimated would be worth $1.3 million total.
“I thank Mr. Horhn for his decision and I want to make it known that we have an ethics department that is also going to follow the letter of the law,” Benson said. “Thank you for holding everybody accountable, but you know what? Sometimes an admonishment can be a badge of honor as well.”
District 5 Council Member Renata Miller agreed that Horhn did the right thing, saying it “shows you have a heart for our people.”
State law requires buyers to notify the assessor’s office within 45 days of obtaining new property, or face fines of up to $200 for residential property and $1,000 for commercial property.
“I must say that when people do not do their property transfer, the bill grows,” she said. “Can you imagine purchasing a lot for $200 and you get a bill on top of it? Our residents would have been furious. We would have been bombarded here.”
Christal Phillips, executive director of the Board of Ethics, said Horhn is familiar with the law and clearly broke it. The board upheld its duty in publishing a public admonishment, she said. The Board of Ethics is not empowered by the charter to impose discipline upon a public servant.
“We know the government is mired in red tape; that is not an excuse to violate the ethics ordinance,” Phillips said. “It is not an excuse to violate state law and that is what happened.”
Horhn argued ignoring the tax was the simplest and quickest way to resolve the problem.
Miller questioned whether the investigation into Horhn had political motivations, noting the ethics hearing happened in an election year. Horhn said the timing was suspicious and said he questions “a lot of things about this process.”
An investigation was opened in August. Phillips said the Board of Ethics held a hearing on Nov. 12, two weeks before the council finished its business last year, which is why the public admonishment was not filed with the City Council until this week.
“The reason was not politically motivated,” Phillips said.
No good deed goes unpunished
A public administrator with a good heart willing to advocate for the public he has promised to protect is a blessing for all of us. He did this at risk to himself and is to be commended not admonished. The true meaning of ethics has been fulfilled by his actions. Thank you sir from a lifelong Detroit resident.