Politics & Government
Mount Vernon District Files New Suit Against City Comptroller
City officials can't get the comptroller to provide fiscal information or reveal how much the taxpayers are paying her lawyer.
MOUNT VERNON, NY — The Mount Vernon school district has again sued the city because Comptroller Deborah Reynolds has not turned over $29 million collected in school taxes in the past three years.
Calling it "the most significant and immediate risk to our financial stability" school officials told parents they had no choice but to sue. SEE: Mount Vernon Schools Start Cost-Cutting While Planning To Reopen.
City officials — that is, Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Reynolds and City Councilman Marcus Griffiths acting as the Board of Estimate and Contract — voted 2 to 1 to hire the Oxman Law Group for the city's defense, The Journal News reported.
Find out what's happening in Mount Vernonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Reynolds wanted to use her personal lawyer, Jay Hashmall, but Patterson-Howard and Griffiths refused because Reynolds has refused to disclose how much taxpayer money she has paid Hashmall to defend her in a series of lawsuits. Patterson-Howard told The Journal News that when she refused to co-sign a check for Hashmall in January without documentation, Reynolds wired him the money.
They also complained that they have no information from the comptroller's office about how much the city collected for the school district and how much it turned over, TJN reported.
Find out what's happening in Mount Vernonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
City Comptroller is an elected office, and Reynolds has two more years to go in her term.
Former Mayor Richard Thomas complained publicly about Reynolds' secrecy, refusal to pay bills, and antics at meetings. SEE: Comptroller Leaves City At a Financial Standstill.
When Patterson-Howard took office in January, the situation didn't get better.
In February, the mayor revealed that Reynolds at the end of 2019 had installed an illegal firewall and removed financial records from the city servers. No department has access to the city's finances.
She also cited concerns surrounding payroll and millions in unclaimed grants and federal aid, and in February requested the New York Comptroller's Office do a complete audit of the city's finances.
It hasn't been finished.
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