Mount Vernon, NY – Mount Vernon PBA President Nicholas Mastrogiorgio recently voiced his frustration and disappointment over the city’s decision to grant elected officials a substantial 40% pay raise. This decision comes at a time when the Mount Vernon Police Department remains the lowest-paid law enforcement agency in Westchester County, despite having recently negotiated a contract that the city claimed they couldn’t afford for the overworked police force.
The Comptroller’s office justified the raises, as stated by the PBA President, by comparing salaries with those in other Westchester cities. This will make the Mayor, Comptroller, Council President, and City Council members among the highest-paid in the county. However, Mastrogiorgio notes that this comparative analysis has yet to be extended to the police department despite numerous requests over the years.
“We’ve been asking them to do the same with us in the police department for years,” Mastrogiorgio stated. “A lot of these politicians used the fact that the unions in Mount Vernon received a contract as justification for them to get 40% raises. I just wish they would have used the same analysis and equations that were used for them when they gave us that contract.”
Mastrogiorgio also addressed a councilperson’s comment regarding the lack of retroactive pay for elected officials, calling it an “apples to oranges comparison” as they are not part of unions or bound by contracts like the police department.
Mastrogiorgio also addressed the dire situation at the Mount Vernon Police Department, stating, ‘The department, grappling with understaffing and the lowest pay in the county, leaves its officers with no choice but to endure extensive overtime just to get by. This relentless demand significantly impacts their health, stress, and overall well-being. It’s crucial the Mayor, the City Council, and the Comptroller prioritize and address these challenges, ensuring our officers have the support and resources they need to thrive, both in service and in life.'”
The Mount Vernon Police Department is currently facing a staffing crisis, with an average patrolman having only two years of experience, 121 transfers in the past four years, and a shortage of 30 officers. Mastrogiorgio emphasized that the city should prioritize addressing these issues before focusing on pay raises for elected officials.
“Right now, the average patrolman has about 2 years experience, we’ve had 121 transfers in the past 4 years, we’re 30 officers short and frequently go out short-staffed on a daily basis,” Mastrogiorgio said. “Don’t you think the city should start doing some things to fix those problems before worrying about giving themselves a pay raise?”
Alongside his statement on Facebook, Mastrogiorgio also shared a list comparing the salaries of mayors in Westchester County. He questioned why the City of Mount Vernon failed to ensure pay equity for its police department compared to other police departments in the county, an issue that has been a point of contention in the most recent contract negotiations. The Mount Vernon Police Department PBA took into account the Comptroller’s claims that the city didn’t have sufficient funds during these negotiations. Despite the recent contract, the Mount Vernon Police Department remains the lowest paid in the county, while the Mayor’s salary has risen to become one of the highest among Westchester mayors.
The PBA President’s statement highlights the growing tension between the police department and city officials, as well as the need for a more equitable approach to compensation and resource allocation in Mount Vernon.
Cry a fucking River. Nick and the PBA been the top salaries for the last decade making over 200k easily. They just got new contracts giving them 14% plus retro and now they’re crying about it once again. Most of these greedy union leaders have a majority of their members who don’t even live in Mount Vernon. The total sum of the increase is 150k-200k and the comptroller said it time to do it.
Some people do make $200,000 a year but they do it working a thousand extra hours per year.
They do it working a thousand extra hours and risking their life to provide peace and safety to the community.
They do it because the city refuses to fully staff the police department and the other option would be to let their brothers and sisters go out short-handed, that makes it a necessity to work overtime to provide the proper amount of Public safety to the good citizens of Mount Vernon and our fellow officers.
Yes, we got a 14% raise and we’re still the lowest paid Police Department in Westchester County.
Councilwoman Danielle Brown spoke about retaining talent in Mount Vernon as a reason for justifying the exorbitant raises that they received.
Well we haven’t been able to retain any bit of talent in the Mount Vernon Police department over the past 4 years. Amazing, community minded officers, have been leaving in droves for higher pay.
We lost 120 plus police officers to transfers, that experience and that expertise is serving other communities and NOT Mount Vernon.
So you may want to call Mount Vernon the jewel of Westchester but the real jewels of policing are scattered throughout Westchester County and they all became jewels here in Mount Vernon.
How sad is that. The city council, the comptroller, and the mayor, decided they needed to be amongst the top paid in their profession in the county, yet they leave there first responders buried in the cellar.
They should be ashamed of themselves. REAL Leaders always put their people first before they eat. That’s not the case in Mount Vernon apparently.
Concerned Voter has no idea. The union got 14 percent, but is still waiting for their retro pay. There is no Mount Vernon Police Officer that makes 200 k in salary. Maybe with overtime since the department is over 30 officers short. Get the facts or STFU