Introduction to Mount Vernon’s 2020 Proposed Budget
The Patterson-Howard Administration entered the budgetary planning process with an optimistic and collaborative approach. As Mayor-Elect, I sought to obtain a comprehensive understanding of governmental operations, priorities, challenges and opportunities. To that end, I met with each department head, and our City Comptroller. As a result, there were several meetings with the Comptroller to review the proposed budget submitted by the Wallace Administration, and to receive her input. During our deliberations, the Comptroller and I navigated through the complexities of creating a balanced budget that would best meet the needs of the City, given our financial constraints.
On Tuesday, January 13, 2020 at the regularly schedule Board of Estimate & Contract meeting, we presented a revised proposed budget that had been agreed upon with the Comptroller. The revised proposed was presented as a fiscally responsible budget. It included staffing, operational and mandated priorities that improve the efficiency of government and quality of life for our tax payers.
At the January 13, 2020 Board of Estimate & Contract meeting it was determined that any salary raising for elected officials must follow a process that did not allow for such increases through the budgetary process. Therefore, the proposed budget required revision, extracting the salary raises for the elected officials. On that evening, the Comptroller submitted a revised budget with a 3.66% proposed tax increase, exceeding the New York State tax cap, extracting salary increases for the elected official, other staff and the $1.5M allocation of the City’s Fund Balance.
Alternatively, on January 14, 2020, I presented a proposed budget with 1.97% tax increase, which was accepted at the Board of Estimate & Contract meeting. The budget proposed for the January 23, 2020 public hearing included the same priorities from the budget developed by myself and the Comptroller and submitted on January 13th, removing the salary increases for elected officials and retaining the $1.5M allocation from the City’s Fund Balance previously presented and placed by the Comptroller.
Following the January 23, 2020 Board of Estimate & Contract Public Hearing, Mayor Patterson-Howard revised the budget based on concerns and suggestions brought forth by the public. At the January 28, 2020 Board of Estimate & Contract meeting she introduced a new budget that brought the tax rate down to 1.78%. The following highlights the major changes from the FY 2020 proposed budget. This information provides transparency and clarity.
Revenue
Transfer from Water Fund (Net Earnings): Decreased the amount from $2,500,000, which was provided by the Comptroller, to the 2020 Adopted Board of Water Supply budget of $1,450,000. Water Department funds will not be used for general city legal fees, this process was abused through the end of 2019.
Net Proceeds from Sales and Use Tax: Increased from $21,950,000 to $22,125,000 which is an increase of $175,000. Which is a .1% increase in sales tax revenue.
Sales of Real Property: Placed $1,500,000 pending the sale of the YMCA building. Since 2016, the building has been in disrepair, with piping being stolen out of the building and squatters destroying the interior areas that had been renovated. At this time the city cannot take on any new property maintenance projects and the Doles Center, Armory, four fire stations, police station/courthouse and city hall have major capital needs. We must invest on the infrastructure of our community like roads, sewers, lighting and public health/safety.
The sale of this property will return it to the tax roll and add revenue to the city’s coffers. While this is a very hard decision, it is necessary and fiscally responsible. The proposed development will include 10,000 square feet of community space for after-school/recreation programs and additional space for arts & cultural programming (I.e. theater, dance and music) at no cost to the city.
Street Opening Fees & Permits: From $224,100 to $855,000. The Department of Public Works, based on receipts from April to December, received over $700,000 in 2019 from permits and fees related to Con Edison’s ongoing construction throughout the city and other small projects. Similar fees from work by Con Edison is expected to continue into 2021.
Safety Inspection Fees (Building Department): Increased from $100,000 to $200,000 due to the increase in code enforcement officers.
Building Department — Absentee Landlord: Increased from $90,000 to $150,000 due to the additions of code enforcement officers.
Recreation Rental Charges: Increase from $25,000 to $30,000 based on five-year actuals reported by the Recreation Department.
Youth Camp Fees: Placed $45,000 from actuals received from the Recreation Department that were not reported in the budget.
College Tour Registration Fee: Placed $27,500 from actuals not shown in the budget and received from the Recreation Department.
Public Safety Permits — Fire Department: Increased from $30,000 to $55,000. Increased fees and additional code enforcement.
Building and Alteration Permits: Increased from $700,000 to $1,000,000. This is a decrease from the $1,200,000 placed in the original budget which was over-estimated.
Plumbing Permits: Increased from $75,000 to $85,000 due to increased code enforcement.
Insurance Recoveries: Increased from $20,000 to $75,000 based on actuals from the last three years which were around $100,000. This is a conservative estimate.
Mortgage Tax: Increased from $1,430,000 to $1,500,000 which is inline with rising housing values.
NYS-Mental Health: Increased from $510,000 to $540,000 based on actual receipted revenue through the Department of Recreation-Rose Simon program.
Cable Franchise Fee: Increased from $250,000 to $500,000. Mount Vernon is finally prepared to close on the deal with Spectrum and Verizon. Each contract is worth $250,000.
Departmental Appropriations
Office of the Mayor
An increase of $120,000 to add the position of Chief of Staff to Mayor’s office. While the Special Assistant is focused on community relations, the Chief of Staff position will assist with the overall and day-to-day operation of government, improve efficiencies, cross-departmental collaboration, and enhance services to tax payers.
Finance Department
Removed the Risk Management Coordinator of $55,000 as this position was not created through civil service. Removed $50,000 in external contracted services, legal services will be provided by the expanded Corporation Counsel. The Corporation Counsel is the legal entity for the Mayor, the Comptroller and the City Council. Unfortunately, due to political infighting in the past the Corporation Counsel did not properly serve other government entities. Returned Munis Licensing fees, Kronos Application fees and Printing, Leasing, & Copying back to 2019 levels. ($62,000 decrease)
City Clerk
An increase to the salary of the City Clerk by $10,000, Deputy City Clerk by $3,000 and the Deputy Registrar by $11,000. These positions have not received increases in the last several years and the increase provides a more appropriate salary level.
Law Department
The increase of approximately $170,000 in salaries, includes the addition of a 5th Corporation Counsel at $85,000. In addition, the city charter requires a fifth Corporation Counsel. These salary increases and additional staff attorney will alleviate the overburdened workload of the existing staff attorneys and extensive outsourcing. The City has spent an exorbitant & crippling amount of money on external counsel fees because of the lack of staff and the inability to recruit specialized and experienced attorneys. Rather than expend increase amounts on external legal services, these adjustments will reduce the city’s expenditures and improve the internal legal services for the City.
Assessor’s Office
An increase of $17,000 for the Assessor ($10,000) and Deputy Assessor ($7,000). These increases help bring the salaries to comparable rates in relation to municipalities like Mount Vernon.
Human Resources
An increase of $21,000 for the HR Commissioner ($11,000) and Secretary ($10,000). These increases help bring the salaries to comparable rates in relation to municipalities like Mount Vernon.
Civil Service Commission
Increased from $60,000 to $90,000 to fund police examinations, including agility test. We’ve reached the bottom of our police list and must commence a civil service exam in 2020 to ensure that we maintain a full complement of police. Management Services
An increase of $124,000 to strengthen and protect our IT software/security upgrades, including dedicated staff for Fire & Police and City-wide digital communication. Historically, the Police Department have used officers to cover the IT functions of the city. By adding a dedicated staffer, the city is can synchronize IT support across City Hall, Police and Fire which have run independently of each other. This will allow us to drive synergies between the groups, providing more consistent service and opportunities for cost-saving. Additionally, we’ve created a digital communications team for all branches of government to improve the level of communications to the citizen of Mount Vernon. This means residents will receive updates on a regular basis to be more informed.
Our current technology infrastructure is antiquated and on the verge of collapse, which cripples daily functionality and productivity. Furthermore, this funding will address the unfunded NY State mandates for the city to comply with digital record retention, email and cyber security.
Department of Public Works
An increase of $257,000 in salaries for Sanitation to correct titles, salary levels and position classifications. The salary increase addresses the sanitation staffing challenges the city has faced in prior years. These increase amounts are necessary for sanitation service, yet with adjustments in other DPW budget lines, the total increase to the Department of Public Works budget $67,018. This budget will provide more resources for our Department of Public Works to handle sanitation, street cleaning and quality of life issues.
Fire Department
An increase of $258,851 in funding for fire prevention, code enforcement, and emergency management including $60,000 for support staff in administrative roles, the Fire Department is without administrative support. The additional staffing will aid with efficiency and responsiveness. Furthermore, code enforcement will increase quality of life and ensure that Mount Vernon identifies and addresses potential code violations that can harm lives. Also included, mandatory step increases from $150,000 to $200,000.
Buildings Department
An increase of $150,000 for three Code Enforcement Officers at $50,000 each. Recently, the City of Mount Vernon received a $618,000 grant to cover the cost of these new hires. These officers will help address the ongoing code enforcement violations and improve the quality of life, building code compliance and public safety for the residents of Mount Vernon. The city has been challenged with administrating code enforcement and these additionally positions will reduce violations and appearance of blight caused by slumlords and zombie houses.
Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
An increase of $21,000 for the Director of OEM, formerly Civil Defense Director to allow the city to hire experienced staff with FEMA & Red Cross certifications. The director would bring thorough knowledge of Federal, State, and local emergency management safety procedures, laws and regulations governing emergency and disaster plans. We’re looking for Office of Emergency Management to help prioritize emergency service and the opening of the OEM center.
Developmentally Disabled Program An additional position of an Assistant Director for $45,000 to assist in the management of a grant funded program and ensure compliance with state mandates. The new position is complete grant-funds.
Recreation Department/Programs for the Aging
Increase of $34,319 for currently positioned, but not budgeted for Senior Citizen Recreation Leader(part-time). An increase of $275,000 in part-time salaries as match requirement for a grant related to senior nutrition, and congregate & home delivered meals. Historically, the cost for these salaries has been paid by the city each year but have never been properly reflected in the budget.
Neighborhood Facilities Centers (The Armory & Doles Center)
Additional $75,000 for a new Community Centers Director. Currently, the community centers usage is underutilized. This position will manage the community center facilities and identify new revenue streams through facility use & rentals. Additionally, the incumbent will expand community programming, and enhance operational management of the facilities.
Recreation Youth Programs
An additional $50,000 for Youth & Family Program Director to oversee programming compliance and safety. Currently, there is only one middle management position coordinating and executed youth, family, recreational and athletic programs. The addition of a director position will alleviate workload of existing staff. The additional $225,000 in part-time salaries covers the existing program operation cost required to maintain quality services and State/County mandates for youth services. Inherently, the part-time salaries budget has been overspent and a result of improper funding levels.
Planning Department
The City of Mount Vernon oversees more than $10,000,000 dollars in grant money. We have added a grants compliance officer at $90,000 to help manage the comprehensive grants portfolio to ensure compliance, maintain timelines, track reimbursements, and submit final reports to funders.
Miscellaneous Items
The budget includes an additional $500,000 for EPA/DEC compliance. This money will be required to help keep up with any potential penalties arising from previous EPA/DEC issues and federal mandates. We’ve included $75,000 for the completion of the Comprehensive Plan to hire a consultant to draft the comprehensive plan for the city, which hasn’t been done since 1968. Lastly, we’ve included $50,000 for the 2020 Census to hire two community organizers to work with community organizations and immigrants on the Census.
Mandatory Step Increases
We’ve included $200,000 for mandatory step increases for CSEA and Teamster 456, as per contract. This was previously un-budgeted but mandated per union contract.
Please click here for Mayor Patterson-Howard’s full 2020 Proposed Budget.
