Mayor Patterson-Howard makes 4 appointments for Public Safety & Operations
June 8, 2020 — Today, the City of Mount Vernon made (4) appointments to strengthen public safety and streamline city operations. Mayor Patterson-Howard promoted Rev. Dr. Darren Morton, who moves over from Planning Commissioner to Chief of Staff. As Chief of Staff he will manage the operations and streamline of the functions of city government. He has served in different capacities throughout the City of Mount Vernon over the last 9 years.
Mayor Patterson-Howard made (3) additional appointments to the public safety department. Her first appointment was promoting Marcel “Jay” Olifiers to Captain & Chief of Police. Captain Olifiers has served the Police Department for 32 years. He previously served as commanding officer for the support services division (SSD)which oversees emergency services, the city jail, discovery and various internal functions of the police department. Additionally, Sergeant Charlotte Neal-Young was promoted to Lieutenant. She has served for 25 years, a was second in command of the SSD and led the police department’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic. She will replace Captain Olifiers as commanding officer of SSD for the Mount Vernon Police Department.
In the Fire Department, Kim Robert Odindo was officially promoted to Deputy Chief and currently serves as Chief of Operations. Chief Odindo has led the COVID-19 response for the City of Mount Vernon and has worked in the fire department for over 13 years.
Mayor Patterson-Howard said, “We continue to put people into place who are subject matter experts and stewards of good governance. During these troubled times, we require people who are dedicated to doing the work of the people. We are developing a diverse professional and innovative leadership team who is committed to improving service delivery, and efficiencies. This fulfills a campaign promise to hire people who will move us forward together to a new Mount Vernon.”
