If you want to assess the I-Don’t-Get-It factor at city hall, all you have to do is turn to Detroit Council President Charles Pugh.

The city is in a BIG financial crisis, and this guy is bearing his bare chest for all to see, talking about how he lost 60 pounds.

Yes, he’s just released a video on how to lose weight and it includes shots of him bare chested, both before and after he shed those pounds.

The video release came on Friday about an hour after Mayor Dave Bing went before the council to see if he could fire head Corporation Counsel Krystal Crittendon.

Bing embarrassed himself by showing up. He needed six votes to get her fired.

There was no way he was getting it -- particularly from Pugh.

So while the ship was sinking, and government looked as dysfunctional as ever, the circus ringleader Pugh took the time to promote Pugh and his soon to be famous six-pack abs.

The timing of the video is not completely lost on Pugh.

In fact, in the video he notes: “So when I told people I was gonna to do this video I got a bit of criticism, people saying, well the city’s in financial crisis, you’re the city council president right now, so why are you focusing on your abs? This is not about my abs, this is about the health crisis that nobody seems to be talking about in the city of Detroit.”

Ok, fine. There’s nothing wrong with addressing such a pressing issue. But as an official, its best to do it with dignity.

Disrobing, showing off your six-pack abs, trumps the message, invites mocking comments and creates a distraction -- unless the message is really about YOUR abs.

There’s enough people mocking the city. We don’t need people providing more fodder for the Late Night talk shows.

I happened to be over at the federal courthouse waiting on the verdict of Bobby Ferguson on Friday afternoon when the video was released.

Reporters in the press room were watching the video, making wisecracks. We can only imagine what folks in Metro Detroit were thinking.

So a little advice to Councilman Pugh: Keep your shirt on while the city loses its shirt.

We could use a little dignity at a time of crisis.