“Tower of Babel” Budget Fails the Future: Walker/Apuzzo All Promises, No Foundation Sets Mount Vernon Up for “Significant Monetary Penalty”
Mount Vernon is facing potentially hefty fines from the U.S. Department of Justice and if we don’t act, the city’s financial obligations will only get bigger, future budgets will only get squeezed further, property values will plummet, and vital services cut.
Members of the City Council and the Comptroller, on their way out the door after recent election losses, want to paint a misleading portrait, when what is occurring is that they are kicking the can down the road, leaving the rest of us with the tab to clean up the mess.
We can still accomplish what we need to do if we work together. We can move forward by discarding petty politics and putting our future and our children first.
As Mayor, I have convened and will continue to convene stakeholders to implement cost saving, job generating solutions. We invite the outgoing government to follow through on their promises to the DOJ and people of Mount Vernon.
What follows is a summary of the main questions and answers on the sewer situation.
They proposed a zero percent tax versus a 4.85 percent increase. Why the big tax rate difference? In my first mayoral budget, for January 2017, I proposed a zero percent tax increase. This year, we proposed a realistic budget that unfortunately presents a 4.85 percent increase, for the simple yet necessary reason that the federal and state governments are threatening to fine Mount Vernon over the unacceptable state of our sewer system, which has been failing for decades.
Of that proposed 4.85 budget percent increase, 4 percent — more than 80 percent of the total increase — is to pay fines we are expected to owe the federal government in short order.
Why is this happening now? Fixing broken sewers is urgent because the city has refused to comply with the Clean Water Act since 2003. Decades of disrespect to Mother Nature and to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has led Mount Vernon into trouble for failing to act.
How much is this going to cost? A lot. Anticipated fines could amount to $225,000 per day, or nearly $1.6 million a week. This is the ugly penalty for political dysfunction and malfeasance. This does not include the cost to make repairs, which are estimated at $60 million over a 10-year period.
Is the Thomas Administration willing to pass a budget before the end of 2017? Yes, we are willing to consider finalizing the budget particularly so taxpayers can take advantage of deductibility rules before the end of the month. The Trump Tax Plan has left many middle-class families worried and unsure about what is going to happen. Our administration is willing to complete the budget but we must include a stronger set of assurances that the City of Mount Vernon must comply with federal mandates.
How serious is this? Think Flint, Michigan. The difference, according to the DoJ, is “willful intent.” We were informed that civil and criminal charges are possible if we fail to act in good faith. Past city leaders have snubbed their nose at the demands of six U.S. Attorneys General, dating back to John Ashcroft in 2003. Our city is not above the law, especially when it comes to such a critical environmental and health issue.
How much work do we have to do and by when? Part of Phase 1 involves televising, mapping and immediately repairing more than 600,000 feet, or 114 miles, of underground pipeline by March 2018. (Read the entire 10-year schedule, complete with milestones and reporting expectations here.)
What have we done to do something about this? Despite invoking emergency powers in June 2017 to procure services and protect taxpayers, vendors currently assisting the city on sewers have not been paid since May 2017. This has had a catastrophic effect on compliance because outside groups will not work with us. They are weary of the Comptroller’s office due to a history of not paying bills. (Watch a video testimonial on this issue here.)
What must happen now to make progress? Fund the plan to comply with federal law and immediately set aside funds to pay “the significant monetary penalty.” Let me be more clear: Federal and state regulators will not wait for us to get around to it. The reckoning is coming. We have days left to do this or we will become like other communities that have been taken over by higher authorities at a huge expense. We are better than this and cannot fall for political spin from those with hidden agendas.
Originally Published in Mount Vernon Inquirer — December 14, 2017
