Plaintiffs: United States Gov’t vs. Defendants: Ernest Davis, Maureen Walker, Marcus Griffith, Andre Wallace, Lisa Copeland et.al 18 Civ. 5845
Dear Mount Vernon Friends and Family,
The federal government is seeking an estimated $153 million penalty for Ernie Davis’, Maureen Walker’s, and certain Council members (particularly Marcus Griffith and Andre Wallace’s) refusal to comply with environmental laws. This action can be found under Index number 18 Civ. 5845 and carries the potential to bankrupt the city with catastrophic tax hikes that none of us can afford.
I vow to do everything in my power to protect the interests of the city, reverse the years of neglect, and reduce the federal threat to property taxes. I have assembled a professional and competent national legal team that has experience in these matters and expect to brief City Council President Lisa Copeland and Comptroller Deborah Reynolds tomorrow at our statutory meetings.
For the past three years I have presented solution after affordable solution to avoid this unbelievable and costly situation. Obstructionists’ continued denial has now caused us to have roughly 20 days to address the federal lawsuit related to our broken sewers and Memorial Field.
As CBS 2 news reported, first it was “not a big deal” to the Council. Then they promised to help fix our broken sewers. Now, three years later, the Council’s and former Comptroller’s decision to renege on funding clear action plans was simply the wrong choice. They rejected numerous concrete plans for compliance, choosing instead to duck the issues and dodge the tough decisions.
Mount Vernon needs you now more than ever to join this important conversation and demand action and answers from all local elected officials, including myself.
In an effort to keep you informed, here is some useful information to understand the long history of the city’s sewer issues and what you can do to help encourage the City Council to choose to collaborate with us on saving the future of our community.
Understand that I am fearful that the Council is committed to continued political conflict as they canceled their last special meeting to fund the Planning Department and Bureau of Engineering. Instead, they called a special meeting to hire a political friend. How can they, in the face of millions of fines, find time to payback political favors yet provide no time to defend the taxpayer?
If they continue to resist federal compliance and work to sabotage the effort for political gain, I may have to invoke emergency authorities to right wrongs and will turn to you for support. In the meantime, I will hold onto hope that they prove my fears wrong and join us at the problem-solving table as soon as possible.
While we impatiently wait, the clock is ticking. Tune in to tomorrow’s meeting at 9:30 AM on Facebook live here and stay tuned for updates. Feel free to call or email my office for further information at 914–665–2361 or MayorThomas@cmvny.com.
Respectfully,
Mayor Richard Thomas
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