Wayne County commissioners are expected to vote Thursday on a package of deals to sell 141 tax-foreclosed properties to nine hand-picked developers — at least three of which have county ties, raising questions about transparency and favoritism.

Supporters of the plan described it as a small-scale pilot project that will ensure foreclosed properties throughout the county are developed rather than sold at auction, where speculators could snatch them up and let them deteriorate.

The developers involved in the proposal have been working with county officials in recent weeks to identify the foreclosed properties they want before they are put up for auction next month. The developers' price would be the unpaid taxes on the properties.

Wayne County Land Bank Executive Director Cheryl Jordan, who is driving the plan, said she reached out to some developers while others heard about the opportunity through word-of-mouth.

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"We did not issue a formal RFP (request for proposals)," Jordan told commissioners at a committee meeting today. "We felt the level of staff that we have — we weren't ready to evaluate hundreds of proposals."

The county land bank selection process was not transparent enough for some commissioners, especially considering the developers with county connections, including one tied to the administration of former Executive Robert Ficano.

Commissioner Diane Webb said during the meeting that the county could be setting a dangerous precedent.

"My phone's been ringing off the wall with other economic development folks and investors that are saying, 'I never got a chance to even look at this,' " she said. "That's not how you should do business in government. I am just really appalled that those kinds of legal considerations, those kind of fairness issues are not at the forefront of this discussion."

County commissioners voted 9-5 today at the committee meeting to advance the development deals to Thursday's full commission meeting with a recommendation for final approval. Webb voted no.

The developers with county ties include:

FPJ Investments, of Grosse Pointe Farms: Ficano's former chief of staff, Matthew Schenk, is the registered agent listed on the company's articles of organization filed with the state. Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak said in an interview he was unsure whether Schenk has an ownership interest. Schenk, reached by phone today, said he does not, and that he last worked for the county in 2012.

Home Team, of Detroit: Edna Bell, who was a Wayne County commissioner into the early 2000s, works at Home Team, a real estate company that previously pitched an unsuccessful plan to acquire thousands of foreclosed homes from the city. Bell's daughter, Alisha Bell, is now a county commissioner. Alisha Bell disclosed her mother's relationship with the company during today's meeting.

Team Cares, of Dearborn: Former Wayne County Commissioner Phil Cavanagh was on Team Cares' board, according to county spokesman Jim Martinez. Martinez was not sure when Cavanagh left the board. Cavanagh could not be reached for comment.

The other developers in the land sale proposal are: Reality Transition, of Taylor; Citi Asset Management, of Dearborn; Tiff Massey, of Detroit; National Faith Homebuyers, of Detroit; Veterans Empowerment Neighborhoods, of Brownstown Township; and Southwest Detroit Business Association.

The deals involve 141 properties, about half of which are in Detroit. The others are in various cities throughout Wayne County, including Hamtramck, Livonia, Grosse Ile and Trenton. Under the proposal, the developers whose county ties were questioned would acquire nearly half the properties - FPJ Investments would buy 40 properties; Team Cares would get 18, and Home Team, 14.



Commissioners asked for assurances that all the developers were vetted to ensure there are no conflicts of interest.

Jordan, of the county land bank, said all the developers filled out conflict-of-interest forms, which had not yet been provided to commissioners.

Asked after the meeting about which companies had county ties, Jordan said she was aware only of Edna Bell's employment at Home Team, which Jordan felt would be resolved by Alisha Bell's abstention from voting.

"Nobody else put anything else down" on their conflict of interest forms, Jordan said.

Woronchak said it was still unclear how the developers were chosen. But he noted the project is small — only 141 properties are being sold out of about 8,000 headed to auction — and it could help fix up some foreclosed homes.

"I don't love the program," he said. "At some point we have to do some creative things out of the box."

Contact Joe Guillen: 313-222-6678 or jguillen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joeguillen.