Detroit's nigger mayor Kwame, TNB Time

[White Devil]

Kilpatrick's 754 job cuts include cops

Detroit mayor's plan to fix $300 million budget deficit depends on union concessions.

Tammy Belt with her niece Jade Belt, 6, is seen in front of her Detroit home. Belt is buying her parents' house just as Mayor Kilpatrick is proposing a $500 tax on closing costs for home buyers.

Highlights of the budget

"”šÃ‚¢ The city would continue to cut grass in parks on a seven- to 10-day cycle, repave and repair roads and maintain weekly garbage collection, but reduce weekly bulk pickup to only the months of January and April through October.

"”šÃ‚¢ Voters in August primary would be asked to approve a 2 percent tax on fast food and a property transfer tax, which would be set between $250 and $500 for each property sale.

"”šÃ‚¢ Kilpatrick estimated the city will be able to achieve roughly $10 million in annual sav

ings by consolidating some city depar
tments.

"”šÃ‚¢ A total of 754 people would lose their jobs from all departments. The Fire Department would lose 61 people, and Emergency Medical Services would lose 47 positions.

"”šÃ‚¢ The city would end operating subsidies for the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Historical Museum.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on Tuesday presented a budget plan that would cure a $300 million deficit and stave off financial collapse, but only if negotiations can quickly resolve some of the city's -- and the region's -- most intractable problems.

Under the $2.8 billion spending plan, about 754 workers would be laid off, including an unspecified number of police commanders and inspectors but no patrol officers; 61 firefighters; and 38 Emergency Medical Services personnel. City departments would be dramatically streamlined and, according to Kilpatrick, the overall level of city services would improve.

But the following must be done:

"”šÃ‚¢ Union
work
ers must agree to a reduction in health care benef
its and a 10 percent pay cut. They have refused so far this year to go along with that plan, and reiterated their resistance Tuesday.

"”šÃ‚¢ By the end of the year the mayor must resolve two issues that have bedeviled southeast Michigan for decades: moving the undersized Cobo Center from a city-owned to a regionally supervised operation, and finalizing long-stalled plans to merge city and suburban bus service.

The mayor also wants to end operating subsidies totaling about $5 million for the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Historical Museum.

His plan is to turn the supervision and funding for the zoo and museum over to private foundations, as was successfully done years ago with the Detroit Institute of Arts.

If those cost-savings aren't forthcoming, Kilpatrick told the City Council in a two-hour long session Tuesday morning that there will be more layoffs -- including Detroit police officers on the streets -- and city servic
es would
suffer further.

"This is the most aggressive budget tha
t's ever been presented to City Council," Kilpatrick said. "The city government can't be this big anymore, and some people are going to be caught in that."

The city's financial woes are caused by a dramatic loss of population, a steadily eroding tax base and a decline in state revenue sharing, combined with skyrocketing costs of health care and other benefits.

Kilpatrick also blamed inaction by his predecessors in office. "The city of Detroit is 30 years behind the world in technology," he said.

It is unclear if the mayor's proposals, which must be approved by City Council by May 24, will be enough to stem the tide of red ink for the city, but financial and urban planning experts say it is a move in the right direction.

"Those sound like the things the city needs to get back on track," said Standard & Poor's analyst Jim Wiemken, who noted the de
cisions coul
d improve the city's bond rating and in exchange lower the amount of money Detroit pays on interest for money it borrows.

Kurt M
etzger, research director of the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University, said Kilpatrick's layoff plan and decision to renegotiate health insurance costs, although unpalatable for many, is what the city needs and suggested the cuts may not have gone far enough.

"There's no way he can't do that," Metzger said.

Workers may be resistant to the changes, but they may have no choice. "What is the alternative?" Metzger asked. "There really is none."

Signaling their displeasure, about 100 members of city unions marched outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in protest.

The 10 percent pay cut Kilpatrick is requesting translates into union workers giving up their pay for 26 days.

"The mayor is nuts if he keeps thinking he can get something from us," said John Rie
hl, president of
AFSCME Local 207, which represents city Water and Sewerage Department workers.

The union's five-year contract with the city expires in June, and represents a deal many workers were already unhappy
with.

For the first three years of the contract, they received no pay increases; in the final two years they got 2 percent wage boosts each year. "In our local there is the need to go on strike," Riehl said.

Detroit police, who have chronically complained about being underpaid, will soon be looking elsewhere for employment because they don't want to make less money or risk being fired, police officers predicted.

Detroit Police Officers Association vice president Paul Stewart said he believes layoffs in the department are just a matter of time.

"This is just a cat-and-mouse game," said Stewart, mentioning that Kilpatrick, in his State of the City address last month, vowed not to cut police officers.

City Council will hold a ser
ies of public hearin
gs on the budget before deciding what to do with the spending plan. At least on Tuesday, there were no outward signs of extreme resistance from a legislative body that at times has been a thorn in some of Kilpatrick's proposals.

City Councilm
an Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. told the mayor many of his ideas sounded good but that he wanted more specifics.

"A lot of broad brushstrokes ... I need to see the fine brushwork," Cockrel told Kilpatrick.

Council members offered myriad suggestions for other cuts and revenue generators that ranged from charging an entrance fee to use Belle Isle -- an idea that has failed before-- to re-evaluating how much the city charges to play golf.

The 754 people losing their jobs would come from all departments. The Fire Department would lose 61 people, although Kilpatrick said he was told no fire stations will have to close.

However, 47 EMS positions will be eliminated, including 38 layoffs. Also slated for closure a
re four "ECHO"
rapid-response units, purchased in 2003, that are fully-equipped vehicles with life support apparatuses.

In the Police Department, no officers who patrol the street will be laid off, Kilpatrick said, but the number of commanders and lieutenants would be reduced. He said that cou
ld be accomplished by not promoting people into open slots. However, he warned if the police union does not agree to budget cuts, street cops could be given pink slips.

"We won't be able to sustain this no-layoff approach in the Police Department for those police officers on the street if their union doesn't come to the table and renegotiate their benefits with us along with our other unions," he said.

In addition, despite a very public recruiting campaign for officers, Kilpatrick said he is suspending existing police academy classes.

Stewart, of the police union, said 85 cadets and two slated for the next class will be told shortly their training will be halted
.

[img]http://
www.detnews.com/pix/2005/04/13/asec/a013-budgetmayor-0405y_04-13-2005_OC5CJOD.jpg[/img]



http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/05...A01-149192.htm

[White Devil]

DETROIT (AP) --Concerned about repeated borrowing to keep the city afloat, state officials have barred Detroit from automatically taking out more loans to fill budget gaps.

The action by the Michigan Department of Treasury comes in response to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plan to sell a $55 million tax anticipation note to maintain its cash flow.

Detroit has been struggling with a deficit of about $300 million. Because the city has had to borrow money to balance its budget, the state will require Detroit to get pre-approval on loans for the next five years, Treasury Department spokesman Terry Stanton said.

"We've been in pretty good financial shape until recently," Auditor General Joe Harris told The Detroit News on Wednesday. Kilpatrick has "plugged the gaps with loans. He couldn't borrow any money this time; his hands were tied so he had to plug the

gap with things that are improbable."


Chief financial officer Sean Werdlow said last week that Detroit needed the line of credit until cash savings from recent and anticipated layoffs are realized. The action does not mean the city will run out of money, he said.

Detroit is not alone in having to obtain prior approval for loans; about 10 percent of 1,900 local governing bodies such as cities, counties and school districts must do so, state officials say.

Kilpatrick on April 12 presented budget proposal that calls for laying off 754 city workers, 4 percent of the municipal work force of 16,800. The mayor announced 900 other layoffs in January.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/in...st=newsmichigan

[White Devil]

DETROIT - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, whose city is struggling with a projected $230 million deficit, has charged at least $210,000 for travel, meals, a bottle of pricey champagne and other items on his city-issued credit card over nearly three years, public records show.

The charges cover the first 33 months of Kilpatrick's four-year term that began in January 2002. The Detroit Free Press said Tuesday that it obtained the records last month through a Michigan Freedom of Information Act request.

The purchases include 78 charges for meals over the 33 months, including a $283 bill at Danny's Grand Sea Palace in New York in January 2002 and a $456 bill at the Capital Grille in Washington in September 2003.

The mayor also spent more than &#036;600 on Jan. 23, 2002, at two upscale restaurants while attending a U.S. Conference of Mayors' meeting in Washington.<b

r>
Records also showed that on
March 31, 2002, alcoholic beverages including a bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne were charged to Kilpatrick's city credit card at an Atlanta restaurant owned by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. The total bill, including food, was &#036;194.

Kilpatrick spokesman Howard Hughey told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the mayor's travels and entertainment have been part of his effort to attract business to the city, which has struggled with a steep population decline since the 1950s and the resulting erosion of the tax base.

"As indicative of any first-term mayor, he has done so to meet with several potential public and private investors," Hughey said.

Meals make up less than a tenth of the charges to the city credit card, with travel accounting for most of it, Hughey said. He said there is no city policy preventing the mayor from charging alcohol but said Kilpatrick generally has not done so.

Kilpatrick's immediate pr
edec
essor, Dennis Archer, said he never billed taxpayers for alcohol and normally
paid out of his own pocket or from campaign or other private funds for meals above &#036;40.

"The city really had no funds to entertain anybody," he said.

Kilpatrick's salary was about &#036;176,000 before he said he would cut it by 10 percent, or &#036;17,600, to help close the shortfall in Detroit's &#036;1.6 billion budget.

The mayor's proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 calls for 754 layoffs and assumes unions also will agree to a 10 percent pay cut, as well as changes in health benefits.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/detroit_mayor

[Gman]

Waste Watchers Investigate Mayor's Credit Card Charges



Kilpatrick Spends Nearly &#036;250,000 On City-Issued Card

POSTED: 5:57 pm EDT May 3, 2005
UPDATED: 6:28 pm EDT May 3, 2005

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick answered questions on Tuesday regarding the expenses on his credit card report, Rescue 4's Waste Watchers reported.

Kilpatrick spent nearly &#036;250,000 on his city-issued credit card, according the report obtained by Local 4.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Video: Mayor Responds To Credit Card Expenses
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


&quo

t;That &#036;200,000 -- probably &#036;70,000 a year, I guess it worked out to be -- produced over &#036;2 billion in priv
ate and public investment for this city," Kilpatrick said. (Say what, nigger&#33;&#33;&#33; What niggerbabble this is&#33;&#33

Rescue 4's Waste Watchers learned that the mayor turned in missing receipt forms for between &#036;6,000 and &#036;16,000 of the charges that he listed as city-related expenses.

When asked by Rescue 4 reporters why he needed a city-issued credit card if other local leaders such as Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Gov. Jennifer Granholm do not have one, Kilpatrick responded by saying, "There are a lot of things the governor and L. Brooks have that I don't have. I don't think that's the perspective that we're dealing with it from." (more niggerbabble)

Some of the items on the mayor's credit report included a &
#036
;36 purchase at Panera Bread. And, at a &#036;1,000 Super Bowl meeting at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, someone rented a &#036;12 movie on the city credit card
(no doubt PORN) Local 4 reported. Kilpatrick apparently also spent &#036;75 to send flowers to TV host Tavis Smiley.

"It is excessive and I think the mayor has a lot of explaining to do," said Detroit Auditor General Joseph Harris.

Harris pointed out items in the report such as a &#036;1,200 expense at Sweet Georgia Brown, a restaurant near Detroit's Greektown.

The expenditures are raising eyebrows because of the recent budget cuts the mayor has proposed, which include several layoffs, the station reported.

Kilpatrick said last month that an additional 754 layoffs would be needed in the coming year to help overcome a projected budget shortfall of more than &#036;300 million.

When you put a nigger in charge of something this is what you get. N
Iggers w
ill act like niggers no matter the situation. I have no sympathy for this niggerfuxated hellhole known as Detroit. You are getting what you deserve.

Gman

[The Bobster]

The nigger mayor now wants to put an additional 2% tax on fast food to pay for his expenses. He says the people won't even notice it.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/09/news/econo...on=money_latest

Burger, fries and fast-food tax to go?

Detroit may be set to become the first place in the country to impose an additional tax on fast food
May 9, 2005: 3:52 PM EDT
By Parija Bhatnagar, CNN/Money staff writer


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - An additional tax on fast-food may be a distasteful idea for whopper-lovers but at least one major city in the Midwest is seriously considering such a proposal.

In an effort to curb a looming &#036;300 million budget deficit, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick last month floated what he called a "differ

ent budget than has ever been presented to our city council."

The budget
includes a proposed 2 percent tax that would be levied only on sales at fast-food restaurants, among other items that would generate additional revenue for the city.

"That means if a Happy Meal costs &#036;2.99, the total cost will be &#036;3.05, with the 6 cents coming to the city," Kilpatrick said in his budget proposal. " If you buy a medium fry for &#036;1.05, the total cost will be &#036;1.07. It's a small amount for the individual customer, but it adds up to a meaningful amount to preserve essential city services."

A spokesman for the Mayor's office said a vote on the budget will take place before July 1, which marks the start of the city's 2006 fiscal year.

If approved by city voters and the state legislature, Detroit would become the first locale in the nation to impose a tax on fast-food. Consumers already are charged an average nationwide rate of 6 percent
on
restaurant tax, according to the National Restaurant Association (NRA).

Kilpatrick's proposed fast-food tax would be
in addition to the 6 percent general restaurant tax, a spokesman for the mayor said.

Critics said Kilpatrick, who Time magazine recently included in its 2005 list of America's worst mayors, shouldn't expect consumers to applaud his creative thinking.

"We think these type of restrictive tax penalizes consumers for enjoying their favorite foods," said Katherine Kim, spokeswoman for the NRA.

"In a sense, it's almost discriminatory," she added. "It targets just a section of the food services industry. The impression is that it will restrict consumers' free choice in participating in a lifestyle they enjoy."

Andy Deloney of the Michigan Restaurant Association said he already sees loopholes in the proposal.

"The Mayor's office hasn't released too many details about this fast-food tax
but one
basic question is about how they differentiate between a McDonald's or a Wendy's or a casual dining chain like Chili's that also sells curbside and offers takeout," he said.

"If you're ta
rgeting so called 'unhealthy food,' which is the better option -- a bigger tax on salad sold at a McDonald's or a bigger tax on ribs and mashed potato sold at a casual dining restaurant?" he added.

Pete Sepp, spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, agreed.

"The implications of a fast-food tax is that we'll see a more Balkanized tax system than we already have," he said.

"Defining what is and isn't 'fast-food' per se is a difficult task in itself. In theory, the tax will fall harder on consumers who progressively eat more fast-food. But why should consumers who occasionally go there be penalized? Something like this has the potential of a massive public backlash."

The tax could also end up hurt
ing workers
at fast-food outlets, the NRA's Kim said. "You're already penalizing the consumers, but this could also put at risk the livelihood of the workers if sales fall," she said.

Officials at McDonald's, the No. 1 fast-food chain, did not immediately have a comment.

Offici
als at Wendy's and Burger King said the chains hoped to have a comment later in the day.

[White Devil]

Detroit Mayor Seeks Fast Food Tax

May 9, 2005
It had to happen sooner or later: a fat tax. With concerns about obesity growing, and the independent film "Supersize Me" gaining near-cult status, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says now may be the time to put an extra tax on fast food.

The money would certainly come in handy. Detroit is grappling with a &#036;300 million budget deficit and Kilpatrick believes a two percent fast food tax would help fill city coffers while making consumers think twice before downing so much unhealthy fast food.

Taxes on restaurant meals are nothing new. Many municipalities levy a "prepared meals tax" on top of state sales tax to supplement local tax revenue. But what Detroit is considering goes a step farther.

The National Restaurant Association, a Washington lobbying group for the restaurant industry, says this would b

e the first time a specific type of restaurant has been
singled out for taxation. The tax would apply to any fast food restaurant product, even a cup of coffee.

Critics charge the proposed tax is unfair, since young people and the elderly -- two groups at the lower end of the economic scale -- tend to be the most frequent fast food customers. They point out it's highly unlikely it could ever be enacted, since it would require the state legislature to amend the tax law and would need the approval of Detroit voters, who may not be ready to give up their Big Macs and Whoppers.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/fat_tax.html

[White Devil]

Detroit bonds downgraded again

City's precarious finances cause third service to lower its rating

May 13, 2005

BY MARISOL BELLO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The bad fiscal news keeps getting worse for the City of Detroit.

A third major investment firm downgraded the city's bond rating on Thursday, even as the Detroit City Council works to triage a budget with a &#036;300-million hole by considering deep cuts in police and fire -- two departments that in recent years have been left untouched.

"I think it's an indication of how serious our fiscal situation is," said Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel. "It makes the work the council is doing so very important."

The heads of the police and fire unions, however, said their departments already have been cut too much.

"We are one of the lowest-paid police officers in the state,&

quot; said Marty Bandemeer, head of the Detroit Police Officers Association. "I
don't know where they can cut when we are down to the bone. Now, the only thing left to do is to amputate, and I'm not willing to give up any part of my anatomy."

But the bond ratings reflect the city's bigger financial picture -- a municipality on the brink of possible fiscal collapse.

In a statement, Fitch Ratings said the two-level drop to BBB+ from A "is based on the city's financial deterioration in the last two fiscal years."

The downgrade comes on the heels of Wednesday's move by Moody's Investors Service, which changed Detroit's fiscal outlook to negative from stable. Although the change took the city one step closer to a possible drop in its bond rating from Moody's, the service left its rating for the city unchanged.

Standard & Poor's was the first to downgrade Detroit's bond rating a month ago, citing the city's continuin
g de
ficits, ongoing population loss and mounting debt. The bond rating downgrade will make it more expensive for the city to issue bonds because its i
nterest rates will go up.

The swirl of financial downgrades comes in the midst of a complicated budget season as the City Council looks to drastically alter Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's proposed 2005-06 budget, saying his plan is unrealistic.

The council's proposal looks to slash an additional &#036;54 million from the Police Department budget. That's on top of the &#036;66 million in cuts proposed in Kilpatrick's budget. The cuts could translate into another 334 layoffs.

The council proposal looks to cut another &#036;15 million in the Fire Department budget, in addition to the &#036;16 million in reductions proposed by the mayor.

All told, the council's proposal looks to trim &#036;94 million in all departments, which in the worst case scenario could translate into an additional 900 layoffs across the board. The
mayor&#3
9;s proposal already cuts the &#036;1.6-billion general fund budget by &#036;180 million and includes 754 layoffs.

The proposal before the council was put together by a
working group made up of the legislative group's fiscal staff and staffers from members' individual offices, the other council divisions and the auditor general's office.

"I consider this laying out the best chance to get us through next year," Detroit Auditor General Joseph Harris said.

The proposal, like the mayor's budget, relies on heavy concessions by all the unions, including police and fire. It includes &#036;47 million in health-care concessions and 10% cuts in all union salaries.

Harris said without both the concessions and wage cuts, the city will not be able to pay its bills next year.

Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association, said the budget can't be balanced on the backs of firefighters.

As for the Kilpatrick administration,
officials s
trongly oppose the council's move to drastically alter the mayor's budget.

Budget Director Roger Short said the proposal laid out for the council didn't look at the implications of the cuts, especially in the
police and fire departments.

"The mayor put together a reasonable budget that reflects the need to curtail costs, but at the same time maintain a level of service," he said. "The council's proposal lays off a significant number of police and fire and will cause a reduction in services."

Council members will continue to discuss the proposal over the next week. They have until May 24 to vote on a budget. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

Cockrel said the budget the council will put together is a stopgap to get the city through the next year.

"Many of these ideas are tough pills to swallow, but there is no where else to cut," she said.

Contact MARISOL BELLO at 313-222-6678 or bello@freepress.com.


<a href='http:/
/www.freep.com/news/locway/council13e_20050513.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.freep.com/news/locway/council13e_20050513.htm</a>

[White Devil]

Council to Kilpatrick: Quit using credit cards, cut back on travel

May 12, 2005

BY MARISOL BELLO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Detroit City Council voted unanimously Wednesday for the city to discontinue the use of city-issued credit cards and unnecessary travel.

The move was aimed directly at Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the only city employee and elected official with a credit card in his name.

The resolution, which is symbolic and does not carry the force of law, came in the wake of the latest controversy surrounding the mayor.

A Free Press report found that while the city is struggling to right its finances, Kilpatrick spent more than &#036;200,000 on travel, liquor and expensive restaurants in his first 33 months in office, and that not all of the charges were documented.

Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, who introduced the resolution, said the city is in no pos

ition to pay for credit cards.

"The ci
ty is broke," she said.

Mayoral spokesman Howard Hughey said Kilpatrick will continue to use the credit card "in accordance to city policy, as we have been."

Hughey said the majority of the mayor's expenses are legitimate and were part of the mayor's efforts to bring more investment to the city.

Hughey said some of the expenses were the result of Kilpatrick booking travel for other city employees as well.

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/kilp12e_20050512.htm

[White Devil]

Engler (former Michigan governer) blasts Detroit's performance

He says mayor, City Council, schools are bringing city down

May 10, 2005

BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF
FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU CHIEF

Former Gov. John Engler blasted Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the Detroit City Council and Detroit schools on Monday, saying they are dragging the city down economically.

Engler, who lives outside Washington, D.C., and is president of the National Association of Manufacturers there, suggested to the Detroit Economic Club that receivership is a possibility for the city.

"I'm disappointed that some of the promise I saw in Mayor Kilpatrick when he was in the Legislature hasn't been realized as mayor," Engler said while answering questions from the audience. "I think the future is very difficult for Detroit, because they've shown almost no willingness to m

ake the hard decisions."

He added that Kilpatrick "is saddled
with the worst city council in America. I've seen one of the bad ones in D.C., and it looks pretty much like an all-star group compared to what we have in Detroit."

Afterward, Engler told reporters that he likes Kilpatrick personally, but added, "something just hasn't clicked." He said the city should at least eliminate the lighting department and turn it over to private firms and give Belle Isle to the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority.

Council President Maryann Mahaffey said Engler shows continuing hostility to Detroit with a belief that its residents cannot govern themselves.

"He forgets that every city in the state is having financial problems, partly because he used all the state reserves and didn't leave anything for the new governor," Mahaffey said.

She said the council is trying to make hard decisions about what city departments to eliminate or cut -- c
hoic
es she said Kilpatrick has avoided.

A spokesman for Kilpatrick did not return phone calls Monday.

Engler's prepared
speech focused on global economics and U.S. manufacturing. He appeared one week after Gov. Jennifer Granholm addressed the same group.

Engler deflected questions about Granholm's performance as governor, saying he has stayed out of state politics. But his off-the-cuff remarks didn't mince words about Detroit, whose residents he often angered as governor, especially by leading a state takeover of the city's schools in 1999.

Engler said although the schools haven't made as much progress as he had hoped under the state takeover, at least the appointed board offered hope.

"I'm frightened at the prospect of Detroit electing a school board again," he said. "Without quality schools there is no hope for Detroit. The real question there is, can you fix the schools in Detroit? And I'm not sure."

Engler lament
ed the p
olitical opposition that rejected philanthropist Bob Thompson's &#036;200-million offer in 2003 to build new charter high schools in the city, citing reports of Detroit parents wan
ting more charter schools. "Help that is sincerely offered ought to be accepted, and I think there's some difficulty in getting past some self-imposed barriers there," Engler said.

Contact CHRIS CHRISTOFF at 517-372-8660 or christoff@freepress.com

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/engler10e_20050510.htm

[The Bobster]

[Former Gov. John Engler blasted Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the Detroit City Council and Detroit schools on Monday, saying they are dragging the city down economically.]

No, it's all the niggers that are dragging the city down.