Comptroller and City Council No Shows at Board of Estimate Meeting

Failure to Approve $67,000 to Pay City Engineer Puts Mount Vernon at Risk

Job Critical for Complying with Clean Water Act

Mayor Richard Thomas today had hoped the Board of Estimate would have approved the $67,000 needed to fund the post of City Engineer for the rest of the year, a position that state and federal regulators have called essential for bringing Mount Vernon into compliance with the Clean Water Act.

But the Comptroller and the City Council representative were no shows. They were also no-shows at a meeting to approve the funds on Friday. These failures to act could have devastating consequences because today was the deadline for the city to show the Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency the good faith efforts Mount Vernon is making to end years of pollution.

“The DOJ and EPA are not interested in excuses and delays,” Mayor Thomas said. “They have been waiting since 2008. Our choice is clear: We can verify by votes and actions that we are serious about compliance, and they will work collaboratively with us moving forward, or we can obstruct, and they will bring down the full force of the law and crush our taxpayers.”

Having lost patience after 10-years of delays, the DOJ and EPA sued Mount Vernon in June to compel the city to stop the “illicit discharges” from its aging sewers into the Hutchinson and Bronx Rivers. Mount Vernon’s taxpayers are facing fines that can reach $37,500 a day per violation dating back to “at least January 2012,” according to the federal complaint. Every $1 million hikes property taxes by 2%.

Mayor Thomas has pledged the city’s commitment to compliance but needs the support of the City Council and Comptroller to fund the City Engineer and several other critical posts that are necessary to begin the remedial work on the sewers.

“Simply put, we can’t get started fixing our sewers without a City Engineer,” Mayor Thomas said. “This is the person who moves the project from plans and drawings to the actual work. Equally important the role can’t be outsourced because the City Engineer is Mount Vernon’s representative on the job, who is there to protect the many financial, legal, and environmental interests of our residents.”

The Mayor’s proposal to fund the position of City Engineer for the remainder of the year would not increase the 2018 budget. It would be paid from savings accrued in the Department of Public Works, which is where the City Engineer resides. The Board of Estimate is only being asked to approve the transfer of roughly $67,900 from a maintenance worker vacancy to the City Engineer line. Next year, the position’s $120,00 annual cost would be part of the budget.

Curtis Woods, a longtime city employee and former Commissioner of the Buildings Department, who has all the necessary qualifications, is ready to take the job. In fact, he has been filling it for two months, but has not been paid. He has indicated that he will walk away from the job if the pay situation is not resolved this week.

The first work of the City Engineer would be to oversee the inspection of 600,000 linear feet of pipes and drains, which should take 18 to 24 months and will help prioritize the sequence of the overall compliance plan. Five outfalls feeding into the Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers have been cited as initial focus areas.

The estimated cost of the inspection phase is $1.8 million. However, Mount Vernon is eligible for a $1.6 million grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. To the secure that grant, the city must show the state it has the people and resources in place to do the work. The state would then reimburse the city after the work is completed. Mayor Thomas is also asking the Board of Estimate for money to pay for two grant writers and fund the position of Planning Commissioner to satisfy the requirements of the grant and ensure successful completion of the sewer work.

Full compliance will probably take at least a decade carry a multi-million dollar price tag, which includes the cost of the work, plus fines. “We need to show the government, we are working with them. Otherwise, the financial consequences for the city could be devasting.”