East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King accused of misappropriating funds meant for new fire engine

A debate is playing out in the city of East Cleveland. On Friday, councilmembers and the firefighters’ union accused Mayor Brandon King of misappropriating funds that were supposed to go toward a new fire engine.

3News went to East Cleveland City Hall to search for answers.

A resolution signed in January 2022 authorized King to enter into a contract with Atlantic Emergency Solutions, “to purchase a new Pierce Dash custom pumper for $679,554 from the general fund.”

The company built the fire engine and East Cleveland City Council President Twon Billings told 3News the engine along with an ambulance were supposed to be delivered around this week. But at a city council meeting Tuesday, Billings said they learned from the mayor that the money is not there.

“It’s gone. We don’t know what he did with it. We don’t know what he did with it,” Billings told 3News’ Matt Rascon. “We can’t do anything in this city unless we know how much we got. We don’t know.”

In a debate over the fire engine at Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor King said, “since I’ve been the mayor, I’ve been trying my best to equip all departments with the necessary equipment to do their jobs most efficiently and effectively.”

“We want and I intend to do my best to deliver these vehicles,” he said.

Matt Rascon reports: https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/loc... --

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