Mount Vernon, NY, August 10, 2010 -- Mayor Clinton Young, Jr.’s administration held the line on the 2010 municipal budget as best they could, capitulating despite all efforts to an increase of 3.495 percent, the lowest of any city in Westchester County. Busily preparing for the more onerous challenges of the FY 2010-2011 budget, the administration has conducted regular meetings with city department heads emphasizing cost-cutting measures, spending reductions, and greater efficiency.
“Last year, my administration went to great lengths to provide Mount Vernon’s taxpayers with what turned out to be the lowest municipal tax increase of any city within Westchester County,” said Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr. “This year, our budget preparations are well underway for 2011 and once again the tax burden is our highest priority as we look to spend less and become more productive.”
The Young Administration cut departmental spending by $750,000 last year and along with the city’s Inspector General, has instituted fiscal controls that provide greater safekeeping of the taxpayers’ money than has been in place during the prior administration. Earlier this summer, Mayor Young and his senior staff traveled to Washington, D.C. where they met with and strengthened their bonds with federally elected officials to forge improved understanding and consideration for greater fluidity in directing federal funds to the City of Mount Vernon.
Mayor Young’s efforts to deliver a strong budget protective of the best interests of the Mount Vernon taxpayer have been stymied by a lack of cooperation from the adversarial Comptroller Maureen Walker, whose worst case scenario expenditure projections, despite their having been addressed over time in an evolutionary and ongoing effort, continues to harass an administration in search of dialogue, and direction distilled from serving the public good.
Ms Walker’s “dog and pony show” this morning, touched on reduced revenues but she failed to mention incoming revenue streams while conveniently obscuring budget codes, in her attempt to cast a very poor light on the city’s financial performance, and then suddenly at year’s end she pulls a rabbit out of a hat portraying herself as a hero for producing a budget surplus.
Acid-tongued bloggers advise Yonkers Tribune / Westchester Herald that Comptroller Walker has continuously failed to share pertinent financial information during budgetary preparation time periods with the administration, and likewise, during the entire year. She sporadically issues expenditure reports to city departments, the last one was in May, making it impossible for any department heads to respectively stay on top of their expenditures? Walker was three months late in providing the required 2009 financial report to the State Comptroller (read attached). She did ultimately submit the report to NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s Office but has yet to provide a copy to the Mayor Young’s Office. Further still, she has yet to produce results of the audit of the 2009 finances.
Comptroller Maureen Walker’s excuse this year has her placing blame on the illness of one accountant despite having two deputies, two chief accountants and two senior accountants on staff.
Comptroller Maureen Walker’s excuse this year has her placing blame on the illness of one accountant despite having two deputies, two chief accountants and two senior accountants on staff.
