For example, the city in 1989 started a taxpayer-financed program to clean out blighted housing. The lots were sold to help cover demolition costs. Today, more than 300 new homes dot the community. Businessman Jeff Kret is pleased with the results. Taylor, Downriver's largest community with about 70,000 residents, used tax money to build and maintain a vast parks system that now includes two public golf courses.
Fees cover the golf course operating costs, and help pay for additional recreation programs.
And since the courses were designed to collect heavy rains that once flooded portions of the sprawling city, Taylor stays mostly dry during downpours. Dismantling the crime-infested neighborhood has meant a dramatic decrease in the police runs, treasurer Jack Haydon said. About 1,300 new condominiums are being built on the grave of the old Sin City site. Taylor officials this month approved financing for three additional ordinance officers, to clear out the junk cars, tall weeds and run down houses that once earned the city the derisive nickname Taylortucky. For example, each community contributes employees and equipment to a cross-district fire unit that serves the Downriver region.