Stephen Henderson: Detroit financial report an indictment of Mayor Dave Bing's leader
I'll give Henderson some credit, he doesn't hold back on Bing's basic failings as an administrator over Detroit city government.
"There's a lot in the state's preliminary financial review of Detroit that isn't about Mayor Dave Bing.
The city has problems that predate Bing's administration by years, even decades.
But one of the more telling aspects of today’s report is the window it opens on how many of those problems have gotten worse under Bing, and how ineffective the mayor has been tackling Detroit’s big-picture issues.
It may be the most damning evidence yet that Bing, a proven winner who generated high hopes among residents and strong backing from the business community [[and the Free Press) has not been the right leader for Detroit...."
Detroit financial report an indictment of Mayor Dave Bing's leader
Detroit Ran up Debts as income plunged
http://www.freep.com/article/2011122...-finances-says
To all of those people in Detroit who are so adament about "their" city and "their" elected officials and to all of those clergy with a real church along with those store-front clergy who pay no taxes at all, this is why the City is in the dire straits it's in right now:
"Instead of cutting the budgets to reduce the deficits, the city borrowed more than $600 million from 2005-10 to try to cut into the shortfalls. This has increased the city's long-term debt without reducing the deficit" [[thug KK's reign).
"The city was unable to account for approximately $216 million in pension investments."
"The city appears to have misspent $14.5 million -- mostly on salaries -- that was intended for community development block grants, WIC [[Women, Infants and Children) recipients and other services to help lower-income Detroiters" [[And this one should outrage all of the citizens of Detroit)
Gary Brown, a multi-millionaire, wants all of the City employees to shoulder this debt and "sacrifice", while he and others on the Clowncil refuse to give up their perks. City employees can and will apply for Bridge Cards and anything else they can get from government to help them live. Cops are being paid wages that most other communities laugh at and they go out and risk their lives everyday in a town where murders aren't one a day but 4 a day or more. Firefighters risk their lives to save the residents lives and homes and get no thanks and are asked to give up more for their families. This is really screwed up and Detroit will be total chaos very soon.