Letter To The Editor: MV Budget Proposal Helps Pals Not Taxpayers

To The Editor:

Reclaim New York Initiative is urging residents and taxpayers to share concerns regarding Mayor Richard Thomas’ financial plan before the Mount Vernon City Council acts on the costly budget proposal.

Presented in September, Mayor Thomas’ $118.3 million budget plan increases spending by 11 percent over last year to hike his own salary by double digits, and double salaries for the mayor's staff. It also would fund the Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency, which previously misappropriated $8 million in two separate incidents, one of which spurred the federal government to suspend funding.

These new bills will be paid by a near-4.9 percent tax increase for city residents. According to the mayor’s own estimates, homeowners with properties assessed at as little as $12,000 could expect to pay an extra $231.60 next year.

“If the Mayor thinks he can get his way with a budget proposal that makes already-overburdened Mount Vernon residents foot the bill for blatant political payoffs, it means residents need to speak out, and fast,” said Domenick Cocchiara, Hudson Valley Regional Coordinator for Reclaim New York Initiative. “This budget not only picks the pockets of residents, it raids rainy day funds and spends millions on a failed agency, all so the Mayor can cash in literally, and politically.”

Cocchiara added, “This proposal does nothing for residents but make it more difficult for them to afford living in Mount Vernon. The people must tell city council members to throw out this budget and put forward an honest, affordable spending plan.”

Along with salary increases for his personal staff, Mayor Thomas’ budget includes new spending that would expand the salaries for members of the city’s police and fire departments, with police salaries rising by almost 20 percent and fire salaries growing by almost 16 percent. The bloated budget, which spends about $11.6 million -- 11 percent more than last year’s adopted budget -- comes at a time when news reports have revealed that Mayor Thomas recently withheld nearly $4.6 million in funding from the city’s schools, costing them over $4,000 in interest payments, because of a dispute with Comptroller Maureen Walker over a $70,000 check for a luxury Chevrolet Suburban bought for the Police Department but possibly intended for a key advisor to the Mayor.

Contact information for members of the city council can be found at:https://cmvny.com/city-council/.

Doug Kellog

Reclaim New York Initiative