A Wayne County judge ousted seven-term Highland Park Treasurer Janice Taylor-Bibbs from office on Tuesday, saying she was ineligible to run for reelection in November 2022 because she owed the city more than $90,500 as the result of a housing scandal.
Highland Park’s charter and state law bars residents from running for office if they are in default to the city.
Taylor-Bibbs owes the money because she brazenly took advantage of a federally funded program aimed at helping lower-income residents buy a home. Despite a policy that generally forbids city officials from participating in the neighborhood stabilization program, Taylor-Bibbs was awarded a new house on Midland Street near Woodward Avenue in Highland Park in 2012.
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority, which doled out the federal funds to build the new houses, demanded that Taylor-Bibbs pay back the $90,620 spent on the home or relinquish ownership to the city, saying she was ineligible to participate in the program.
Taylor-Bibbs did neither and kept the home, where she still lives, according to city records.
After the state threatened to prevent the city from receiving future grants, the Highland Park City Council in March 2019 agreed to reimburse the state and ordered Taylor-Bibbs to pay back the city.
When she refused, the city filed a lien against the home and said she was in default to Highland Park, which makes her ineligible to run for office.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Charles S. Hegarty demanded that Taylor-Bibbs leave office within 21 days.
“Janice Taylor-Bibbs shall be and is hereby ousted and removed from elected office,” Hegarty ruled.
Since Taylor-Bibbs’s term doesn’t expire until December 31, 2026, the city must hold a special election to replace her.
Metro Times couldn’t reach Taylor-Bibbs for comment.
Her removal from office came as a result of a lawsuit filed by Highland Park citizen activist Robert Davis, who alleged Taylor-Bibbs was prohibited from running for election because she was in default to the city.
Davis initially asked Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Office to order Taylor-Bibbs to leave office, but the state declined the request.
“I’m very thankful to Judge Hegarty for enforcing and upholding the rule of law by properly removing her from office because it’s quite evident she is in default and remains in default to the city of Highland Park,” Davis tells Metro Times. “I think it’s important for the citizens of Highland Park to know the facts surrounding the former treasurer’s improper purchase of the home that both state and federal officials say were unlawful.”
Davis says the cash-strapped city should move to collect on the $90,620, pointing out that Highland Park has a serious shortage of money to provide services to residents, more than half of whom are impoverished.
“I think the city should take the formal steps of actually collecting from her,” Davis says.
It’s unclear why Taylor-Bibbs has not faced criminal charges. State and federal officials said her use of the grant was unlawful, but no action has been taken.
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