The Mount Vernon Police Benevolent Association filed a complaint (see below) against the Mount Vernon Department of Finance and Comptroller Dr. Darren Morton, Thursday morning for violating the City Charter by not completing the required financial audits which is causing a huge delay in the arbitration process.
“The City, including the Mayor and the Comptroller, are using every excuse possible to avoid negotiating a contract with the PBA,” PBA President Lt. Nicholas Mastrogiorgio shared with Black Westchester. “They’re also using the lack of financial statements and audits required by the City Charter to try and avoid hearings in arbitration. With this lawsuit, we are suing the city for failing to adhere to its responsibilities as outlined in the city charter. Their negligence should not be our problem, they’re negligence should not hold the city’s employees back from getting the contracts that they deserve. We have made countless offers to the city, but they refuse to give a counter offer and they are afraid to go to arbitration. Something has to give. The people that work for this city and especially the Police Department deserve better.”
Summons and Complaint1 by BLACK WESTCHESTER MAGAZINE on Scribd
With almost 90 departures and retirements since 2020 and the Mount Vernon Police Department being the lowest-paid department in the county of Westchester, the MVPD is suffering from its worst case of Badge Drain. The lawsuit alleges that the city is using its failure to have its city audits and financial statement completed as an excuse to avoid having hearings in their arbitration. The MVPD has been without a contract since 2017.
We reached out to both Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard and Comptroller Darren Morton for comment but neither one got back to us by press time. We will run any statements or comments if they respond later.
Comptroller Morton discusses the status of the city’s finances during his Financial State of the City Interview on People Before Politics Radio, Sunday, April 16, 2023.
Stay tuned to Black Westchester for more on the developing story.
