Posted on 06/16/2008 3:21:30 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A 2-month investigation into the expenses of Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has found a pattern of what appears to be extravagant spending at taxpayer expense, even as the mayor suggests shutting down City Hall for a dozen days and raising taxes.
The expenses include stays at 5-star hotels in Washington D.C. such as the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton, on his many travels away from Oakland, although Dellums owns a luxurious home in the nearby exclusive enclave of Georgetown. The data obtained though the California Public Records Act also shows expensive meals, limousine services and even hundreds of dollars in flowers – all at taxpayer expense.
Oakland is facing a $14.5 million deficit in the next financial year. Dellums is calling for furloughing city workers for 12 days in the next 12 months – all without pay – and severely cutting back already stretched city services.
He is also recommending a $12 million tax hike to deal with the city’s notorious crime problem that has many Oakland residents in an uproar.
The KTVU Channel 2 probe also found Dellums has a staff almost twice as large as the previous mayor’s, now Attorney General Jerry Brown. Among the more than dozen new positions for Dellums is a fulltime chauffeur, who gets paid $60,000 a year.
While Brown spent $120 in reimbursed expenses in his last year in office, the KTVU Channel 2 probe found Dellums has spent more than $50,000 in personal expenses above and beyond his $183,000 a year salary. Brown turned down raises and made $115,000. He drove himself.
Brown’s staff spent some $2,000 in taxpayer money on reimbursed expenses in his last year in office, compared to almost $50,000 by the Dellums staff.
A detailed examination of Dellums calendar also found the 72-year-old Dellums worked significantly less than eight hours a day at least a full third of all the work days he did clock.
A Dellums spokesman said the mayor was unavailable to comment.
Five cents?
Power to the people! Now somebody get my Lexus.
This Dellums turd is very much in the "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" method of governing.
Marx should have said, “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his position in the Marxist nomenklatura pecking order.” It’s the “communist” way!
Rabid Dem voters get the govt. they deserve. Bloated, incompetent,expensive and
inefficient. Vote for change....as much as the govt. can leave in your pockets and not theirs!
I hope the rest of the little marxists enjoy this glimpse of how it's all supposed to work.
Holy Toledo! Dellums and staff spend many times more than Moonbeam and his staff’s expenses. Gee maybe just maybe Moonbeam can give us lessons on how to save taxpayer money.
-PJ
He is a communist. Admittedly. And anybody is surprised that he also might be unethical? Come on, folks. Let’s not be children about this. Even in a hellhole like Oakland (and that is a very generous description), this should not be a shocker.
a few of the comments at the article site reflect the ,’oh darn, I should have voted for the other guy’.. duhhh.
sometimes, there are no good choices.. this is socialist California after all.
Racism!
Where does KTVU get off trying to investigate Dim corruption?? It took them, what, half a frickin' century to expose this?!?!?!
For all of his crazy ideas over the years, Jerry Brown does deserve credit for treating the public coffers as something other than his own private ATM machine.
You Oakland residents voted for him. You got what you expected. Now you're complaining?
many Oakland residents in an uproar.
Charles Barkley just made a comment that Poor people have been voting for Democrats for 100 years now and they’re still poor. This kind of helps explain why....
Well, sort of. It’s more of the “marxism for thee but not for me” type of marxism. The guy’s rolling in dough, aside from what he steals in the form of salary and perks. Kind of hard to be a rich marxist.
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