Gary Spending Goes Down the Toilet, Literally
Who's paying the tab?
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Looks like Gary, Indiana has been praying to the porcelain god.
More than $90,000 in City Hall bathroom renovations, among other ridiculous expenses, have left taxpayers to deal with a $4 million deficit -- and the city on the brink of insolvency.
State auditors are now investigating hundreds of thousands of dollars in excessive spending that has left city officials scrambling to reduce this year's budget once the property tax cap finally kicks in next year.
As of now, the city of Gary is allowed to charge 1/3 more property taxes than the rest of the state per request of city officials, according to the Northwest Indiana Times.
Mayor Rudy Clay's come under fire for laying off more than 100 city workers this past June, rather than cut outlandish expenditures, such as nearly $280,000 worth of South Shore RailCats baseball skybox amenities.
And so far, the Riverboat casino has brought in $12 million in gaming taxes, but that has only been able cover Gary's day-to-day expenses.
Something tells me Mayor Rudy Clay's city-issued American Express card might be declined the next time he visits his travel agent.
Read the entire 157-page report here.
Posted Thursday, Sep 10, 2009 - 12:09 PM CST
