Mount Vernon Insider: Election 2021 Desk: Statement from Richard Thomas Democrat for Mount Vernon City Comptroller: Elections 2021.

 

6 Steps to Fix the Comptroller Problem Today!

Ever wonder why they just won’t fix the Mount Vernon Comptroller problem right away? Seriously, why wait for an election? Why not Fix Mount Vernon’s finances today? Yes - today as in TODAY - Friday, February 26, 2021. After all, we are in a global pandemic and need to have our financial game plan straight to create a prosperous future for the families and businesses that call Mount Vernon home. Here is what we know: The Mayor and the City Council President agree that the Comptroller is a big problem for Mount Vernon. The New York State Comptroller determined that the Mount Vernon Comptroller is the cause of all the chaos in the city. The unions agree that the Comptroller is terrorizing workers and retirees! The Department of Justice alerted the Federal Courts to the problem in the Mount Vernon Comptroller’s Office preventing Clean Water Act compliance. Since they all agree that the Mount Vernon Comptroller must go, then how come they have not acted to solve the problem? There is an immediate solution that could stop the drama and start solving the Comptroller problem for the City in six (6) simple steps.   This can literally happen by 3:00 PM today.  How? The Mayor, the City Council President, and City Clerk must complete the following six (6) steps: Step 1:  The Mayor must call an emergency Board of Estimate meeting. Step 2:  The City Clerk notices the meeting for 6 hours after it is called. Step 3:  The meeting is held and attended by the Mayor, Council President, and City Clerk. (The Comptroller should join too.) Step 4:  The Mayor and the City Council President vote for a new bank to conduct the City’s business. (The Mayor and Council President can pick from any bank that has a presence in Mount Vernon other than the one the City is currently using.) Step 5:  The Mayor and City Council President votes for a measure to order the City’s bank to turn over all information to the City’s new bank.   Step 6:  End the meeting and move on to doing the People’s Business!   These 6 simple steps will end the Mount Vernon Comptroller nightmare – today!   Yes – this is true. Read the City Charter on the Board of Estimate’s power to get this done under Article VII 72 “Designation of depositaries of City funds” here. The Board of Estimate vote can happen by close of business today; however, the Mayor and the City Council President must decide that they want to solve the problem first.

Once the Mayor and the City Council President decide that this is the right thing to do… and it is the right thing to do… proper notice will be given to the City’s bank and a transition to a new financial institution will occur within 90 days or less. This will end the tyranny in the Comptroller’s Office and move the City closer to creating a financial plan to solve the other big problems like sewers or COVID-19 that we collectively face. Why have they NOT done this from Day 1 or Day 100? Why have leaders in the administration have NOT forced this issue? I do not know. What I do know is that they have the power to fix the situation and they have yet to use it responsibly for the people of Mount Vernon. It is my hope that they choose the course of liberty and stop surrendering our independence to political masters that hold the purse strings of the City. Please join me in urging City Hall to ACT NOW, VOTE on a new bank that will respect the People of Mount Vernon, STOP prolonging the problem, and LET’S GET TO WORK NOW on jumpstarting a victorious future for the People of Mount Vernon! Sincerely, Richard Thomas VOTE THOMAS FOR COMPTROLLER P.S. Some may ask how come this was not done before… well that’s because they did NOT show up to the meeting when it was put on the agenda in June 2019. See for yourself here.