Mayor Whelan said that people drew the wrong conclusions from his city's problems.

He said Mayor Whelan, who hadn't called in recently, had "broken his promise" to furnish him with public documents on police deployment.

"The city's reputation was built on nostalgia and fun and whimsy," Mayor Whelan said in an interview one day last week.

Last month, Mayor Whelan said he was "out of smoke and mirrors" and proposed a 3.7-cent increase in the property tax rate, the first since 1996.

Mayor Whelan said the redevelopment approach for the uptown area would be different from the one used in the inlet.

"It's a very frustrating issue for us," said Mayor Whelan.

Mayor Whelan said $400 million had been invested in the city in the last five years in noncasino developments.

For Mayor Whelan, it is also about changing perceptions.

"This is the kind of project where everybody wins," Mayor Whelan said.

Mayor Whelan proposed reducing the night shift by transferring the inspectors to day jobs.