Miles said the religious leaders asked city officials, including an assistant deputy mayor, a faith representative and a police commander, to step out of the private meeting while they discussed "an issue they obviously disagreed with us on." He said when participants emerged, the city officials were gone and had fled the news conference, which Scott Peterson, a spokesman for the mayor denied.
Either way, the sharp words and willingness by leading clergy to openly criticize a political stand by the mayor demonstrates some discord on the best way to prevent violence. The city recently discovered $40 million but that money has to be used for bond reduction. Another surplus $13 million could be used to offset a $65 million budget shortfall, but some of that money might be given to the Police Department to cover overtime.
Peterson applauded the efforts by the faith leaders but took exception to the idea that budget cuts will imperil lives. "No one wants to shut down a rec center or anything for a kid," he said, though he added that "we're racing a global economic meltdown" and later said the city is facing an "economic catastrophe."
