So Detroit filed for bankruptcy yesterday. One of the reasons cited by the governor as to why the application for bankruptcy was approved: police and emergency vehicles that are so old that breakdowns are common. In fact, things are so bad in that respect that in the first quarter of 2013, on 30% of the city’s ambulances were operational.

I was reminded suddenly of a story I wrote a little over a year ago (but never published) that may shed some light on the causes of this particular problem:

“It’s halftime in America.” We hear that line and subconsciously we picture Clint Eastwood walking out of the tunnel. We see the field lights in the background, and we hear that familiar tough-as-nails cowboy drawl. We remember how tough things were just a few short years ago, and how far the city of Detroit has come toward economic recovery. Some of us remember that it was the average American’s tax dollars and not the blood, sweat, and tears of Detroit that actually paid for that recovery. And now, in a turn of events that should be shocking, we realize that we were grossly overcharged.

ABC affiliate WXYZ in Detroit released a statement earlier this week (May 5, 2012) concerning the small matter of a few unmarked vehicles leased to the city for undercover police use. The cars in question, model years 2004-2007, were leased to the city of Detroit by Trader Ray Leasing. The lease rates ranged from $400-$600 per month.

At first glance, the leases seemed reasonable. But after doing a little digging, reporters were amazed to learn that over 100 of those vehicles were still being used by the Detroit police department – despite the fact that the leases were expired, in some cases, by 7 or 8 years. Where this concerns the average taxpayer is the fact that not only are the cars still being used, but the city is also still paying Trader Ray Leasing according to the original lease agreements.

The financial breakdown is enough to make one’s head spin. Take for example a 2004 Dodge Intrepid, a car that could have been bought new in 2003 for less than $25,000: the city of Detroit has been paying $600 per month for that car since its lease date in 2003. That lease, which expired in 2005, should have cost taxpayers $14,400.

When the lease expired, the city should have been offered the chance to either then purchase the car outright or to trade it in for a new model and sign a new lease agreement. Instead, by continuing to pay on the original lease, the city paid over $56,000 for a 2004 Intrepid. If that wasn’t enough, they also racked up $9000 in additional costs since the vehicle has well exceeded the mileage limit in the lease agreement.

Thus the total cost for just this one car is $65,000. And don’t forget, there were over 100 of them…

The citizens of Detroit are angry, and rightfully so. Many of them have suffered through years of unemployment and underfunded public schools and police departments. Police officers have given up benefits and made other concessions, and now are outraged that the city plans to correct this “oversight” by implementing another 10% pay cut.

But they aren’t the only ones who should be angry. When the federal government bailed out the major auto industry, they effectively bailed out the city of Detroit. Keeping people at work in Detroit meant keeping tax money rolling in to city officials. Tax money that they wasted. And folks, where do you think the federal government got the money to bail out the auto industry? Well, literally they got it from China. But they mortgaged your children to China to get it.

And now, even though they knew a year ago what was going on, they failed to correct the situation. Detroit has capsized. And all we can do is wait to see who follows. New York? Chicago? Or will other major cities learn a lesson from Detroit before it’s too late to right the ship?