Detroit Council Wants Hike In Own Budget Despite Massive City Deficit
as reported by WDET 101.9FM - Detroit Public Radio - March 28, 2006
"The Detroit City Council is requesting an increase in its operating budget…despite a city deficit estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter has more…Council has voted each year for more than a decade to give a raise to members and their staff.Now the nine-person Council wants a nearly 16 million dollar increase in its budget.That’s almost two million dollars for every council member…compared to about one million per member in New York City…and 300-thousand per member in Chicago.But the request may be changed.Council’s own fiscal analyst estimates the city budget is stained with 300 million dollars of red ink.Officials in Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s administration say they have cut their overall budget by 40 percent in recent years…and are accepting a 10 percent pay cut the Mayor wants all city employees to accept.Yet even with the cuts…the Kilpatrick Administration still spends four times the amount that…for example…the Mayor of Chicago spends on a per capita basis.Some council members reportedly say they need a larger budget than their counterparts in other cities…because each member represents ALL of Detroit…rather than a lone district or ward.Former Council Member Alonzo Bates faces indictments for having allegedly used his budget to hire employees who did no work on behalf of the city. "
posted by Mal @ 11:59 AM
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