Cleveland (WJW) – Fox 8 went one-on-one with the head of a group which includes some members earning $750 an hour with your tax money.
We asked the question you keep asking as you struggle to pay the bills.
The group now expects to collect millions of dollars a year to oversee reform in the Cleveland Police Department. So, we went to the top.
Last week, we met Karl Racine, the head of the Cleveland Police Monitoring Team.
Racine and other members of the group went before the Cleveland City Council Public Safety Committee.
As Racine walked into city hall, we asked, “specifically, about the $750 an hour fee? A lot of people can’t afford groceries. How do you justify that?”
“I’m not able to comment pursuant to the consent decree,” he responded.
“You’re here to talk to the public,” the I-Team said.
“I am here to talk to the public. I’m not allowed to talk to the press without the permission of the parties,” Racine said.
We’ve recently exposed questions about the group billing the city for flights, hotels and more. In one case, billing $2,400 for the cover letter to a report.
Your tax money pays for it.
So, we pressed for more about the $750 fee.
“It resonates with regular people. So, I’m just looking for an explanation on that,” the I-Team said.
“Like I just said, I’m not permitted to speak,” Racine said.
Cleveland police have been under federal watch for nearly a decade. As the monitoring team went before city council, a taxpayer who owns an inner-city car wash called out the monitors, the Cleveland police and city council.
“There’s a lot of things that everybody in this room are missing and dropping the ball on,” said Darrell Houston.
Councilman Brian Kazy also pointed out the overall cost of police monitoring is soaring, but there’s no end in sight.
In fact, Kazy reminded the group that the fees this year could reach $2.4 million.
