Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick responded to questions Monday night about recent controversies involving the city, including a controversial Lincoln Navigator purchase.

Rescue 4 obtained documents that provided new information about the Navigator. The purchase agreement states "furnish one year mayor's lease of a 2005 Lincoln Navigator" for nearly $25,000 for 24 months. Rumors have circulated the Navigator was leased for the mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, or Detroit police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, Rescue 4 reported.

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Mayor Answers Local 4's Tough Questions

Kilpatrick responded to the Rescue 4 Undercover team's questions from Washington, D.C., Monday night, where he was attending a mayor's conference.

"The navigator was purchased by the police department for the police department. It was never any intent to use it for my wife. I don't know how she got into the story at all. It's just unfortunate that's happened," said Kilpatrick.

The mayor has been under fire during his term for hiring several family members and friends for positions within the city government, including a charity foundation that recently came under scrutiny for handing out generous salaries, Rescue 4 reported.

"Yes, I have a couple of friends that work with me who are very capable. One of them negotiated 48 labor agreements that were outstanding. The other created the SMC which has brought in millions of dollars. So this whole friends and family thing, you're damn right I got some people on my staff who kick butt every single day on behalf of the citizens of the city of Detroit," said Kilpatrick. "And I won't back away from that."

The Rescue 4 Waste Watchers also asked Kilpatrick about the city paying more than $15,000 per month for a building that is no longer being used, Local 4 reported. The vacant building is the former Detroit police training academy headquarters on Park Street. It has been shut down for the past three years, but the city continues to pay on a lease that doesn't expire until Jan. 31, 2006, Rescue 4 reported.

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Related Story: Rescue 4 Uncovers Wasteful Building Lease Spending
Do you know of wasteful money being spent in Detroit? Send an email to WasteWatchers@clickondetroit.com and we'll check into it.

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Kilpatrick said the city cannot get out of the lease.

"It's horrific. We've been renegotiating leases since we've been in office. We've saved millions of dollars in leases, but unfortunately, some of them are long-term leases," said Kilpatrick.

The mayor said the city has long-term leases on several buildings with poor conditions and has sued the owners and severed leases on buildings.

Kilpatrick said the city is working with a company to help Detroit get out of the expensive leases. He said he would do more research on the buildings when he returns from Washington.

Kilpatrick recently announced sweeping changes to help fix a gap between spending and revenues in the city of Detroit that is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.