5.03.2005
The Hip Hop Mayor strikes again
When Jen and Ian still lived in the D, they were kind enough to invite me to a New Years Celebration they called "Jeans and Moet"—if only we had invited Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, we could have charged all that champagne to the city’s tab.
Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial champagne in Atlanta. Lobster tail in Chicago. Limos in Washington, D.C.
As Detroit eliminated thousands of jobs, struggled with exploding pension and health care costs and became a city on the brink of receivership, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick charged more than $210,000 to his city-issued credit card in less than three years on the job, city records show
Oh Kwame, I had such high hopes for you.
Detroit is looking at a $230 million deficit for fiscal year 2005; and while Kwame was kind enough to cut his $176,176 annual salary by 10% (saving the city a whopping $17,000 bucks), nearly 3,000 jobs are expected to be eliminated this year due to lack of funds. Add this to the Lincoln Navigator scandal (costing the city $24,955) and the fact that Detroit is one of the only cities in the country that provides it mayors with city-owned housing (the historic Manoogian Mansion), and Kwame just might be the most expensive mayor in America.
Kilpatrick…is the only city employee who is issued a credit card. A city finance manager, Mike Lane, said he believed mayors have been issued a credit card since the 1970s.
Huh…I wonder what else happened in the ‘70s? Oh, that’s right, we elected this guy:
Remember Coleman Young? The guy who spent millions to create the world's greatest drive-thru; a great downtown area to look at while you drive down Woodward Avenue (windows up, doors locked) toward Canada.
Hey Jen--can we borrow Obama?
Labels: The D
annamaria at 11:50 AM
