One of the expensive SUVs causing controversy in D.C. this week has been returned to the Department of Public Works.
The Washington City Paper and The Washington Post reported two Lincoln Navigators were leased for Council Chairman Kwame Brown at about $2,000 per month. Brown insists he did not know how expensive the vehicles were.
"I regret that I appeared insensitive to the financial challenges our city and residents face," Brown said in a statement released Tuesday. "As Chairman of the Council, it is my duty to make responsible fiscal decisions regarding the District’s use of tax payer dollars. The fact that DPW procured the vehicle for nearly $2,000 a month is an unacceptable use of city funds."
Brown reportedly rejected the first Navigator because of the color of the interior, but the city still had to pay for it.
"It was my understanding that the vehicle would be returned to the leasing company at no cost to the District," Brown said. "I learned just this weekend that the vehicle was maintained as part of the District fleet."
The Office of the Attorney General will renegotiate the lease, Brown said, and he will reimburse the city for his use of it.
Mayor Vincent Gray will release a tough budget in April. During Brown's campaign for the council chair, his financial fitness -- $50,000 in personal credit card debt, an inquiry in to his campaign spending -- was challenged because of the budget crunch.
