Baltimore Officials Dispute Money Spent On New Phones

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Controversy at Baltimore's City Hall. At issue, hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on new phones.

Adam May reports on this unusual dispute between city leaders.

For years, Baltimore's been in a budget crunch. That's why Comptroller Joan Pratt is furious over what she calls an unauthorized purchase of new telephones.

"I wanted to speak to the mayor one-on-one. We were supposed to have a meeting at 4 p.m. but she canceled so I thought I had to let the public know the mayor's Office of Information Technology did spend $659,000," Pratt said.

During Pratt's news conference, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's communications director fired off his own questions.

"She said we spent $700,000 on phones," he said. "That didn't happen. You should be asking her why what she said didn't jive with actual facts."

The city inspector general has launched a probe into the controversial purchase.

The mayor's office says their plan will actually save taxpayers money. Both sides disagree over numerous financial details.

There's no timeline on how long the inquiry will take.