Mayor Richard Thomas Discusses the City's Successes & Challenges

(Wednesday, March 20,2019) MOUNT VERNON – Mayor Richard Thomas visited the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon to discuss the City’s successes and challenges.

Mayor Thomas praised new efficiencies in the Building Department and he described events that are catalyzing Mount Vernon’s transformation. The events are:

• A 24% increase in median home sales prices in the past year in Mount Vernon, according to Trulia.com.
• The construction of five new residential projects in Mount Vernon that did not require tax breaks.
• A new deal with Hollywall Development Company to deliver police radios, a City-wide fiber optic network and management services to the city.

“Mount Vernon is rising. Those aren’t words, that’s real and you can take it to the bank, especially if you are a homeowner or someone looking to borrow against a home,” said Mayor Thomas.

The $82 million Hollywall deal will help schools, businesses and the City, said Mayor Thomas.

“Businesses and homeowners will all now have access to high-speed internet, but more importantly, it’s going to help strengthen our education system,” said Mayor Thomas. “It’s an $82 million investment in Mount Vernon.”

As for challenges, Mayor Thomas noted that the city’s unpaid bills have climbed to $5.5 million. The unpaid bills impede the city’s ability to respond to the needs of businesses, said Mayor Thomas.

One example of the consequences of unpaid bills is the recent disruption in garbage collection when most of the city’s garbage trucks were grounded for repairs that could not occur because parts suppliers have outstanding debts dating to mid-2018.

After Mayor Thomas’ presentation, Building Commissioner Daniel P. Jones described how his department slashed the turnaround times for building plan reviews.

According to Building Department statistics, the number of days for a plan review fell from 32.6 days in January of 2018 to 2.3 days in February 2019. That translates to about a 60 percent decrease when the average review time for 2018 is compared with the year-to-date average review time in 2019.

The number of days for a permit review has fallen from 18.7 days in January 2018 to 3.2 days in February 2019.