Doug Baker of the Michigan attorney general's office made the disclosure during Kilpatrick's routine arraignment in Wayne County Circuit Court.

"It's an offer we feel would satisfy the ends of justice," Baker told reporters outside the courtroom. "And if it can settle the case, then we would be happy with it. If not, then we go to trial."

Offering plea deals at arraignments is not unusual in criminal cases, Baker added.

"This is the time and place to make offers, and this is when we made our offer," he said.

The mayor is accused of shoving a sheriff's detective into another investigator while they tried to serve a subpoena on a Kilpatrick friend July 24. A not-guilty plea was entered. It's one of two criminal cases against the 38-year-old Democrat.

Defense attorney James Thomas told reporters the mayor's legal team rejected the deal, saying it has "nothing to do with the case itself and more to do with the assistant attorney general in the case."

"The resignation as mayor was gratuitous," Thomas said. "It was something that was not necessary. We'll consider anything they have to say that's reasonable.

"Our position is we are going to go forward. We are preparing for trial."

Rusty Hills, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said Baker made the offer to Thomas in the courtroom ahead of the arraignment before Judge David Groner.

"It's a limited-time offer, and they've got ... now until Sept. 3 to say `yes' to the deal," Hills said. "We're the attorney for the people. It's a good deal for the people. It's a good deal for the city. We think, ultimately, it's a good deal for all the parties involved."

A conviction on the assault charges carries a sentence of up to two years in prison.

Kilpatrick's ability to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver didn't come up during Friday's hearing. The mayor is barred from traveling outside the metro Detroit area as a condition of his bond in the assault case.

A hearing, however, was set for Monday on the mayor's bond conditions.

The convention begins Monday and runs through Thursday, when Illinois Sen. Barack Obama will speak after formally winning the nomination.

"The focus of our convention ... should be on Barack Obama and how the party intends to get America back on track, not a distraction involving the troubles of one individual," Obama's Michigan spokesman Brent Colburn said in a statement Friday.

He declined to say whether Kilpatrick should be allowed to attend.

When asked by reporters if Kilpatrick wants to attend the convention, Thomas replied: "I can't tell you what he wants. I can tell you this, there's going to be a bond motion and it's going to be on Monday. So let's see what happens."

Kilpatrick and his former top aide, Christine Beatty, were charged in March with conspiracy, perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office, mostly tied to their testimony in a civil trial.

Sexually explicit text messages between the pair, published by the Detroit Free Press in January, contradict their sworn denials of an affair, a key point in the trial last year involving a former deputy police chief.

Kilpatrick faces prison sentences ranging from up to five to 15 years if convicted on conspiracy, perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice charges.

Separately, Kilpatrick is accused of assaulting two investigators who were at his sister's house trying to serve a subpoena in the perjury case.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 3 on the Detroit City Council's request that Kilpatrick be removed from office. Final motions before the hearing are due by the close of business on Monday.

Granholm declined Friday to discuss anything involving Kilpatrick.

Under Michigan law, a governor can remove an elected official for misconduct.

That hearing could last several days and will be held at a state office building in Detroit. Attorneys on both sides can call witnesses.

The council has accused Kilpatrick of violating provisions of the city charter by not revealing a confidentiality agreement linked to an $8.4 million whistle-blowers' settlement.

The agreement referenced the text messages.

Kilpatrick also will give a deposition next month in a newspaper's lawsuit seeking information about the whistle-blowers' settlement.

The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press have filed that lawsuit to get information about the settlement.

Thomas agreed Friday before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Robert J. Colombo Jr. to have Kilpatrick give the deposition on Sept. 16, both newspapers reported.

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Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit and David Eggert in Lansing contributed to this report.