Eric Sabree.

DETROIT — Eric Sabree, who was appointed Wayne County treasurer earlier this year, is seeking a full four-year term in office.

Even before his appointment, Sabree— the first African American and first Muslim treasurer in the county— had racked up quite an impressive resume that made him well qualified for the position. He served as deputy chief treasurer for five years. Prior to that, he also spent five years as chief of real estate and tax section of Wayne County’s law office. 

Late last year, Raymond Wojtowicz retired as treasurer after nearly 40 years in office. Then, Richard Hathaway resigned as the new treasurer in April. Sabree subsequently took the job.

In an interview with The AANews, Sabree said it’s important for the county treasurer to have experience in both real estate and law.

“I think it’s good to have a background with law and housing,” he said. “I know how taxes work. I understood how the office worked even before I got there. I’ve had a hands-on approach with taxpayers. I got a chance to see what people are doing and dealing with.” 

Sabree grew up in the Detroit area and attended Michigan State University. After receiving his undergraduate degree in building construction there, he obtained his law degree from the Detroit College of Law, now the Michigan State University College of Law. 

Sabree is a licensed attorney and has practiced law in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan and before the U.S Supreme Court. He is also licensed as a real estate broker and a master plumber.

He grew up in a Christian household, but would eventually convert to Islam. In 1983, he and his wife made the pilgrimage to Hajj, which he described as a life-altering experience. 

With a background that gives him commonalities with many residents in Wayne County, Sabree acknowledges the importance of diversity.  And the treasurer’s offices’ 83 employees reflect that. 

He noted that since becoming treasurer, he’s been aggressively reaching out to Wayne County’s various communities. He’s already met with 33 of the 43 mayors and supervisors in the County. And he plans to reach out to the ones he still hasn’t met, during the summer.

“The treasurer’s office is making more outreach efforts to the community,” Sabree said. “I got a chance to meet a lot of the leaders in the cities. I went to four or five parades and I got to see what’s going on in the cities and made myself familiar with what concerns they have. That has been good.”

When it comes to home foreclosures, Sabree said the county is in a far better condition now than it was a couple of years ago, thanks in part to a bill passed in Lansing that gave Wayne County residents an opportunity to pay less interest on their debts for two years. Sabree is aiming to have another bill approved that would extend the measure for an additional two years.

Because of this, foreclosures have dropped from 28,000 to an estimated 17,000 in just one year. Sabree said the treasurer’s office will continue to work on measures to contact residents before they reach a level of delinquency on their taxes.

He noted that the treasurer’s office is sensitive to residents who have been hit with financial restraints and that it is attempting to find avenues to be more flexible on payment plans.

 “Some people don’t go to the doctor because they think they have cancer,” Sabree said. “People don’t come to the treasurer’s office because they think they might lose their home. They are afraid. So we try to talk to them and get them in here. We’ve been committed with targeting efforts— contacting them by phone, email and knocking on their doors.” 

The treasurer’s office has also been working with Green Path Financial Wellness, a non-profit counseling service that assists residents with financial issues and places them on affordable payment plans to avoid debt and foreclosure.

Sabree is also preparing to unveil kiosk locations across the county, in a similar fashion to DTE kiosk locations, where residents can conveniently make payments without having to go to the treasurer’s office. The rollout of the kiosks are tentatively scheduled for mid-August.

In his bid for a full four-year term, Sabree has already racked up endorsements from Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous.

Sabree said in the short time since he’s assumed office, he’s developed a solid working relationship with Evans, who took office last year. He said he and Evans have similar goals regarding where they would like to take the county in the future.

“We both want the same thing for the county,” he said. “We want good financial stability and we want to work together to make sure people of the county are getting their money’s worth. We want to do everything we can to make sure people stay in Wayne County and invest in Wayne County.”