Mount Vernon residents packed a budget hearing to send a clear message to City Hall: they feel priced out of their own city while government favors insiders, rewards developers, and maintains a budget process that many describe as opaque, unstable, and disconnected from everyday life. Explain how these issues directly affect residents’ daily experiences and their trust in local government to foster better understanding among stakeholders.
Again and again, speakers returned to the core feeling of being ignored and distrusted, emphasizing that taxes rise while services decline, leaving residents feeling unheard and undervalued by city leadership.
One resident summarized the mood early: he came ready to explain why the budget is “broken and dishonest,” but said he believed the council would pass it regardless, because that is what the public has come to expect.
“Not the Press Releases… The Record”
Sam Lloyd of Harding Parkway told the council he was no longer interested in talking points. He wanted to discuss what this council has produced over the last five years.
First, he targeted PILOT agreements, arguing that the city has hollowed out its tax base through developer-driven deals approved without meaningful cost-benefit analysis, enforceable clawbacks, or accountability. In his framing, Mount Vernon’s homeowners are asked to absorb the pain of tax increases while select developers receive “tax forgiveness.” He called it a repeated choice.
Second, he accused the council of shielding predatory behavior and suppressing accountability when serious allegations surfaced involving sexual misconduct, mandatory reporting failures, and misuse of public authority. His critique was not framed as uncertainty. It was a moral indictment: when credibility and transparency mattered, he said the council “circled the wagons,” and silence became policy.
Third, Lloyd argued the city squandered a once-in-a-generation opportunity with $41 million in ARPA funds. He said the money was used to mask deficits, expand payroll, and purchase vehicles at a scale he described as roughly $8 million. He further claimed that millions—specifically naming $10 million in revenue replacement—remain inadequately documented or not documented at all. For him, ARPA should have been used to stabilize finances and reform operations. He argued that it instead became a short-term patch that allowed structural failures to deepen.
He alleged repeated violations of law and procedure—local charter violations, state open meetings law violations, and federal compliance issues—arguing that the city has made such violations a governing style. Expound on how these violations undermine public trust and the importance of legal adherence for effective governance to motivate policy review.
He warned that Mount Vernon is at risk of financial instability and potential bankruptcy due to reckless spending and weak oversight, aiming to instill a sense of concern and the need for immediate action among stakeholders.
Sixth, he accused the council of denying the public its right to vote on structural reform by interfering—directly or through silence—in the charter commission process, which he said ensured residents never got a meaningful chance to vote on significant changes.
Seventh, he attacked the city’s comprehensive plan as sloppy and developer-friendly, alleging it weakens single-family neighborhoods, ignores infrastructure limits, evades proper environmental review, and punishes the residents still paying the bills.
His closing was a line many in the room implicitly echoed all night: the record speaks louder than words. Rising taxes, failing services, broken infrastructure, and crushed public trust—those were presented as the actual outcomes of City Hall’s leadership.
A Budget Residents Describe as “Padded,” Unstable, and Built on Borrowing
Several speakers focused on the budget’s structure rather than political accusations.
Steven Vasquez said he reviewed the budget and believed it relied on padded revenue expectations and lacked an accurate estimate of expenses. He compared the city’s cash flow behavior to “payday loans”—borrowing to fund services until revenue comes in—and argued this is not responsible governance.
Others repeated a similar concern: revenue projections for 2026 appear unrealistic when compared with what the city has actually collected over recent years. Residents warned that optimistic revenue assumptions combined with rising expenses create a predictable cycle: shortfalls lead to borrowing, borrowing leads to deeper obligations, and taxpayers are told they must pay more to cover a hole that never closes.
A Pattern of Absence and a Feeling of Disrespect
Anger sharpened over who was not in the room. Multiple speakers criticized the absence of officials during what they called the most important meeting of the year, particularly while residents are being asked to absorb another tax hike. Several residents openly framed the lack of attendance as contempt for the public process.
Speakers expressed frustration over the absence of officials and the silencing of residents’ comments, which fostered a sense of disrespect and highlighted the need for greater civic engagement and transparency.
One resident described this as the city deliberately blocking accountability, then acting surprised when public trust collapses.
Personal Testimony: When Mismanagement Becomes Physical Harm
For one speaker, this hearing was not about projections and percentages. It was about damage, safety, and survival.
Dina Perelloo described a historic home she says has been severely damaged due to what she characterized as an illegally approved development. She alleged that an eight-story building was constructed without proper setbacks or zoning approvals and claimed that, once officials realized the error, the city attempted to conceal it. She described a compromised foundation, bedrock pushing through her basement floor, and alleged asbestos exposure. She said cracks continue to spread as the ground beneath her home settles. Highlight how these development issues threaten residents’ safety and health, emphasizing the human cost of governance failures to motivate action.
She presented her experience as the human cost of a system that shields developers while residents absorb the consequences. After years of pleading for answers, she said she was ignored, ghosted, and left to watch her property value, health, safety, and peace of mind deteriorate. She called for a complete fiscal “freeze”—a hiring freeze, a salary increase freeze, a travel freeze, a discretionary spending freeze, and an end to overtime abuse.
Her message was direct: higher taxes are not the solution. Fiscal discipline is.
Service Delivery Collapsing Under the Weight of the System
Residents linked budget debates to daily life. Kathy Bell, a homeowner who identified herself as both an attorney and investment banker with experience reviewing municipal budgets, argued that responsible public officials do not solve revenue shortfalls by raising taxes and fees until residents can no longer remain in their homes. She called for significant reductions in expenditures, including headcount reductions if necessary, and criticized the scale of salary increases given to elected officials during a fiscal crisis.
She also cited poor city services, including a streetlight outage in Fleetwood that she said has persisted since summer. When she contacted the city, she claimed she was told to call Con Edison because it must be their issue. Her question was simple: if the problem is external, why isn’t the city following up and managing it? Residents see dysfunction not in headlines but in unanswered calls, delayed repairs, and the slow decay of basic services.
Later, Sandra Borduchi, who said she works for property owners, described a building department that she claimed is nearly unreachable. She reported calling daily for 2 weeks, leaving voicemails and sending emails, but receiving no response. She described long lines of property owners waiting in frustration, a new compliance requirement that forces owners to pay outside contractors to complete inspections under threat of fines, and a city department responsible for processing that is barely accessible.
Her question cut through the entire meeting’s logic: with such a heavy payroll, why does it feel like only one person is working when residents need help?
PILOT Deals: The Deal That Keeps Coming Up
Few topics triggered as much repeated outrage as PILOT agreements.
Multiple speakers argued that long-term abatements shift the cost burden from developers onto homeowners. The framing was consistent: developers build, use city services, create added demand on police, fire, sanitation, and infrastructure, and yet do not pay their full share for decades. Meanwhile, homeowners are asked to cover the gap.
Some warned that once abatements expire, developers can sell or move on, leaving residents holding the costs of what was built. In that view, PILOTs are not “economic development” as intended—they are a structural wealth transfer out of the tax base and into private hands.
Tax Cap, Governance, and the Question of Who Has Power
Several speakers urged the council to adhere to the state tax cap, calling for a reduction to 2% or even zero, and demanding that the council send the budget back to the Board of Estimate and Contract.
A particularly heated online speaker challenged a newly elected official’s framing and insisted the council cannot hide behind the idea that this is “the mayor’s budget.” The speaker argued that exceeding the tax cap requires council action through a local law with formal timing and notice requirements. That speaker used profanity and insults and was cut off by the council president, who urged respect.
The incident exposed a deeper conflict: even residents who reject disrespectful language are increasingly convinced that polite participation has not produced results, and that City Hall has learned how to absorb opposition without changing course.
A Younger Voice, Third-Generation Stakes, and a Question of the Future
Among the most emotionally resonant testimonies came from a young, third-generation homeowner who described watching his mother stress over repeated tax burdens and worry about paying bills that keep returning even after taxes have already been paid.
He said he knows Mount Vernon has always had a reputation for corruption, but he has never seen conditions like this. He framed the crisis as a moral and generational issue: children will inherit what is being done now. He also asked a practical question that echoed throughout the meeting: Why isn’t the city bringing in money? Why isn’t there revenue growth tied to assets and identity—such as Mount Vernon’s history and reputation in sports and culture?
His point was not that corruption is unique to Mount Vernon. His point was that residents in a predominantly Black and Brown city within one of the wealthiest counties in the country feel trapped in a system where they pay more and receive less, year after year. At the same time, leadership appears absent when accountability is demanded.
The Council’s Response: We Hear You, But It’s Complicated
Council members who responded attempted to calm the room while acknowledging fiscal reality.
One council member said Mount Vernon’s strain did not happen overnight and reflects years of accumulated structural problems. She said the budget was initially presented with double-digit increases and claimed the council worked to reduce it. She also stated that travel was removed from every department’s budget for next year, including the mayor’s office.
She emphasized that health care costs are a major driver and largely outside the city’s immediate control, though she acknowledged union contributions to health care could reduce pressure. She also raised a warning residents do not want to hear but must grapple with: cutting labor means cutting services. She said layoffs have occurred and remain possible but described them as a last option.
Another council member said the city has sought to identify new revenue streams, noting that cannabis is a growing industry that the town has supported in part to generate tax revenue.
The council president sought to put the debate in context, reminding residents that city and school taxes are separate and that the school budget is larger, while acknowledging that residents pay both. She thanked residents for attending and said these conversations must continue.
What the Hearing Revealed: A City at the Breaking Point
This hearing was not simply about a 5% increase. It was about legitimacy.
Residents presented a narrative of government that has normalized deficit masking, treated transparency as optional, and built a political economy in which homeowners carry rising burdens while powerful interests receive preferential treatment. Several speakers warned that the city is moving toward consequences on par with bankruptcy and that residents are no longer convinced the system will correct itself.
What stood out most was not any single allegation. It was the convergence of complaints coming from multiple directions—finance professionals, longtime residents, property owners, young homeowners, civic organizers, and former officials—each describing different pieces of the same pattern: taxes rise, services stagnate, insiders win, and the public is asked to accept it as unavoidable.
Mount Vernon residents did not attend this hearing to be reassured. They came to force a record—spoken aloud, in public—of what they say has been done to their city.
