Mount Vernon: The Cost of Neglect and the Shadow of Corruption
Mount Vernon is collapsing. Decades of mismanagement have left the city weighed down by broken streets, failing sewers, and a community whose trust has been shattered. Federal and state governments have poured tens of millions into rebuilding Mount Vernon’s crumbling infrastructure, but much of that money disappears into a system with no oversight and no accountability.
For residents, life is a daily struggle. Streets are riddled with potholes. Garbage piles up on every corner. It is unsafe to walk the streets, and homes flood when it rains. Meanwhile, millions flow to outside consultants, developers, and politically connected insiders, while essential city services continue to decline. Tax free PILOT deals push homeowners toward bankruptcy, driving up taxes and threatening future layoffs of city workers.
This isn’t just neglect, it’s a pattern of corruption and favoritism at City Hall. Longtime residents and local business owners see it in opaque spending, no bid contracts, and a complete lack of transparency. Money vanishes before it reaches the people who pay the taxes. Those paying the price are the last to see any benefit.Years of mismanagement have created a city where accountability is nearly nonexistent and public trust is gone. Frustratingly, Mayor Shawyn Patterson Howard is often absent from the crisis, seen at non city events both in and out of Mount Vernon, taking photos while the city falls apart.
Residents are left asking urgent questions: Why hasn’t anything changed? Why does every decision this government makes, harm the people of Mount Vernon? Why is rampant corruption allowed to continue unchecked? Why were efforts to revise the City Charter blocked, denying the public a voice in how their government should operate? How do politicians continue winning elections when the majority of voters oppose them? Why do so many residents believe elections are stolen? Do we even have a vote? Does true democracy exist in Mount Vernon?
WHERE ARE THE FEDS? |
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