Mount Vernon in Crisis: How Our Leaders Betrayed the Public Trust
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For years, the people of Mount Vernon have been asked to do more with less, higher taxes, fewer services, and broken promises. Meanwhile, our elected officials have taken millions of our tax dollars and used them to enrich developers, line their own pockets, and cover up years of financial mismanagement. They hijacked the Charter Commission, to assure Mount Vernon's corrupt system stays in place.
While residents struggled to pay their bills, city officials approved lavish pay raises, handed millions in tax breaks to PILOT developers, and allowed the Mayor to travel the country with taxpayer funded detectives at her side. The Comptroller’s Office “lost” more than $420,000 in a so called scam, and now our our finances are in shambles. Where are the investigations?
Now the City of Mount Vernon is borrowing 7.3 million, just to make payroll.
The Hidden Truth Behind the FinancesThe city’s financial collapse didn’t happen overnight. For years, city leaders knew Mount Vernon was in trouble, but kept that truth from the public. Only when the Mayor's backed Rise Up Mount Vernon candidates won their election, did the scope of the city’s mismanagement begin to emerge.
Under the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Mount Vernon was allocated $41,108,657, through the SLFRF program. Funds were meant to help communities recover from the Covid 19 pandemic. With the money, city leaders hired their friends, and diverted millions into the general fund. This violated the spirit and intent of the law. Even worse, they illegally used millions that were allocated to the school district, forcing an entirely avoidable financial hardship on Mount Vernon’s children.
What about the $150 million for sewer repairs? The city has nothing to show for it. Residents are still living with flooding, contamination, and a crumbling infrastructure, yet no one can say where the money went.
A Mayor Who Raised Taxes and Lowered TrustDuring Mayor Shawyn Patterson Howard’s tenure, taxes were raised every single year. The city also imposed new garbage fees, and they increased water and sewer rates, all while services declined.
New York’s property tax cap law, established under Chapter 97 of the Laws of 2011, was designed to protect homeowners from runaway tax hikes. But under Patterson Howard, and with the support from her handpicked City Council and Comptroller, year after year the City of Mount Vernon hiked taxes much higher than the State tax cap. Most other state municipalities stayed within the tax cap.
Now the city’s coffers are empty, and to keep paying employees, officials have turned to borrowing. At what interest rate, and what promises of future major tax increases were made to secure this loan? The public deserves answers.
Political Protection Instead of AccountabilityHeading into her 2023 reelection, Mayor Patterson Howard’s approval ratings had plummeted. Her disastrous first term was marked by financial chaos, rising costs, and deteriorating public services. She was behind double digits in polling going into the election. Instead of demanding accountability and providing protection to the public, state and county leaders rushed to her defense.
When Mount Vernon residents needed help, Albany turned its back. However, when Patterson Howard’s political career was on the line, almost every high ranking NY state official flooded the city, campaigning shoulder to shoulder to ensure her reelection. They didn’t come to help us, they came to protect Shawyn Patterson Howard.
The State promised to take over the building department, but it is still in the control of Mount Vernon's corrupt government
What about the County? Every time a new destructive PILOT project broke ground, Westchester County officials were right there, shovels in hand, smiling for the cameras, helping to dig another financial grave for Mount Vernon Taxpayers.
At the same time, the County has quietly offloaded its social burdens onto Mount Vernon, placing the homeless, drug treatment centers, mental health facilities, sex offenders, and more within our borders. They’ve helped create this crisis, and now they pretend not to see it.
A City on the Edge
Mount Vernon’s leadership has failed its people. Our tax dollars have vanished, our trust has been betrayed, and our future is now mortgaged.
The State isn’t coming to rescue Mount Vernon.
As with the county, Mount Vernon has also become a convenient location for the state to send their problems and ignore the consequences.
They need local officials in place who are willing to make it possible for this neglect and exploitation to continue.
The Mayor has been overheard boasting that she is “protected.”If that’s true, if protection has replaced accountability, then Mount Vernon is in deeper trouble than anyone dares to admit.
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The Voice of Mount Vernon is a community watchdog group providing editorialized opinion information about local leadership. We are not affiliated with any political party. Our platform includes news briefs, editorials, and independently written Op-Eds. We are open to relevant correction. Voicing concerns under the First Amendment.
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