The City Council's budget exceeds that of many cities, including San Diego, Pittsburgh and Denver. (The Detroit News)
Detroit --City Council spending has jumped 12 percent since 2005 to $6.2 million this year, while Detroit's deficit has soared to $300 million and soon may necessitate job cuts.
Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. wants to rein in spending. While mayor, he proposed a budget that would require council members to give up at least one union staffer and slash their overall office budgets 27 percent to a level not seen since at least 1997, when members had $513,846 apiece for their offices.
In the current spending plan, each council member gets a staff of four and, including his or her salary, has a budget of $656,158. The council president has a staff of eight, and a total budget of $939,772. The members, who make $81,312, also receive free use of a city vehicle.
"There is no question cuts are going to have to be made," Cockrel said.
The council budget for Detroit is costlier than many cities, such as San Diego, where each council person has a budget of $385,672, or in Pittsburgh, where the entire budget for the nine-person council is $1.3 million, or in Denver, where the annual cost this year for the 13-member council is $4.5 million.
Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel agreed that cuts will be needed -- even to the council's budget -- in the wake of Detroit's dire financial state but sees the current council budget as appropriate.
"I wish we had money to hire more good, quality people," said Sheila Cockrel, who last year hired an additional six employees, including some part-timers. "I do watch my budget very closely."
On Tuesday, the council is scheduled to vote on its version of the budget, which will restore some of the cuts Cockrel proposed as mayor but will still reduce salaries 10 percent.
Bing could veto the council's version of the budget and implement his own spending plan, but the council still could override his decision. Bing's spokeswoman, Meagan Pitts, said she did not immediately know whether Bing believes the council's budget is too costly or what he plans to do next week when the council sends him its spending plan for the next year.
Council members have discretion in how they spend their money, and hundreds of pages of contracts, checks and invoices obtained under the Freedom of Information Act illustrate how they managed their offices from May 2008 to December.
Council members have a specific account for their office, which can be used to pay personnel costs, including benefits, and their own salaries. They also can tap that account for expenses related to public office. Those cover everything else, such as personal service contracts to hire additional employees, cell phone bills and mobile Internet access, computer equipment, travel expenses, office equipment, such as toner cartridges and paper for printers, tuition reimbursement for staffers, stationery and picture frames.
Councilwoman JoAnn Watson was the biggest spender from May to December with $337,347, in large part because she hired 13 additional employees -- none who earned more than $23 an hour. She was followed by Alberta Tinsley-Talabi at $284,579, who hired 12 additional employees. Some of the employees for both were part-timers.
Councilwoman Monica Conyers didn't hire any additional workers, according to the records. But she spent $45,361 of her office's discretionary budget. Her expenses ranged from $6,155 to have new carpet installed in her office, to $959 for 12 sets of law books to footing the $6,916 tab for police officers to accompany her on trips to Atlanta, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Orlando.
Conyers' deputy chief of staff, Denise Tolliver, who traveled with Conyers on some of the trips, defended her boss' spending habits.
"All of these expenses were official business," Tolliver said.
Tolliver added that Conyers underspends her budget by $50,000 to $100,000 per year.
According to city records, other expenses included:
The City Council records also uncovered a little-known perk for City Hall staffers. Taxpayers pay roughly $13,537 a month for 75 private parking spaces in a downtown garage across the street from the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. There is an extra $20 charge for 15 workers who park in reserved spaces.
City Council members should be watching every penny for the cash-strapped city, a government watchdog said.
"Leadership is to set the example," said Michael D. LaFaive director of the Mackinac Center's Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative. "The standard should be: Are these expenses being used to improve the city of Detroit? In most cases it looks like the answer is no."
djosar@detnews.com">djosar@detnews.com
Kenneth Cockrel Jr.*
Total: $5,969; bought nearly $1,000 in flags
Monica Conyers**
Total: $45,361; bought nearly $1,000 worth of law books; spent $28,000 on travel
Sheila Cockrel
Total: $255,831; hired six contract employees
Barbara-Rose Collins
Total: $124,938; hired five contract employees; spent $4,000 in airfare
Brenda Jones
Total: $191,720; hired eight contract employees; spent $3,520 for TV installation and $1,430 for calendars
Kwame Kenyatta
Total: $118,984; hired four contract employees; paid $927 in tuition reimbursement for one employee
Martha Reeves
Total: $119,603; hired four contract employees; spent $300 on a private car
Alberta Tinsley-Talabi
Total: $284,579; hired 12 contract employees
JoAnn Watson
Total: $337,347; hired 13 contract employees
* Began serving as interim mayor in late September
** Began serving as council president in late September
Sources: City invoices, checks and purchase orders
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