Mount Vernon City Council - A Little Bit of History

A Little Bit of History

Due to a election petition error, a new city council was elected in the 2009 elections. Councilman John Yuhanna Edwards, former Councilwoman Karen Watts, former School Board Trustee Diane Munro-Morris and Roberta Appuzo all ran together on a Maureen Walker backed ticket and these four espoused transparency and leadership throughout their election campaign. Sadly, in their first seven weeks, they have shown no tendency whatsoever towards transparency and the leadership that they talked so much about comes in the form of their puppetmaster, Comptroller Maureen Walker.

Walker, who is without a doubt running for Mayor in 2011, has made it clear that she wants to see zero progress in Mount Vernon during the current administration which would benefit her election campaign. In this effort to obstruct and divide, the most powerful tool in her box is her four puppets on the City Council. Thanks to their 4-1 margin on the council, they have performed flawlessly in following Maureen's orders and in doing so, their campaign promises of transparency and leadership have been thrown out the window.

The most severe travesty to date has been the City Council's illegal vote to eliminate the Office of the Inspector General. For the past two years, the biggest thorn in Maureen's side has been the Office of the Inspector General. The IG position was funded and staffed by the current administration due to the corruption and fraud that took place during the Ernie Davis regime. In its first two years of existence, the IG has saved the city millions of dollars in federal fines and penalties in the HUD affair, has fought for and was awarded restitution in the A&D Carting corruption case and has worked with federal prosecutors in the Gerri Post/Wayne Charles corruption case that has yet to go to the sentencing phase. These three embarrassing cases of corruption, fraud and mismanagement happened during the Davis administration and it is important to note that during the 12 years of the Davis era, provisions existed in the City Charter for an Office of the Inspector General but the position was never funded or staffed. Do we really need to wonder why? It is also important to note that during the Davis era, Comptroller Maureen Walker supposedly stood as the city's financial watchdog. However, it was on her watch both as Comptroller and Treasurer of the IDA, that these cases of corruption and theft of taxpayer dollars happened right under her nose. Yuhanna Edwards and Karen Watts were also intimately entangled within the inner workings of the Ernie Davis administration. Edwards held a high ranking position in the Comptroller's Office, served as Commissioner of Emergency Management and as Recreation Commissioner. He was also Ernie's hand-picked choice to fill a vacant City Council position. Karen Watts also served as a Councilwoman during the Davis administration and was appointed by Ernie to the position of Recreation Commissioner. It is safe to assume that these three want to return to the old days of corruption and fraud and along with their other team members, Diane Munro and Roberta Appuzo, they will stop at nothing to accomplish their mission.

It is important to note that the City Council will once again have to vote on the elimination of the Office of the Inspector General. Since council president Edwards was mysteriously absent from the last meeting, the vote to eliminate the OIG was only a 3-1 vote. Council rules state that when a 3-1 vote occurs, that they must vote on the item again at the next council meeting. So this Wednesday, February 24th at 7:00pm there will be a City Council meeting where this vote will again come up. Be sure to attend and sign up to speak at the meeting by calling the City Clerk's officeat 665-2348 by 3:00pm on Wednesday.

Since we're talking history here, we would be remiss to not discuss newly installed Councilwoman Diane Munro-Morris. Diane was a long-time school board trustee who served on the board during an era that saw the ushering in of outrageous school tax increases and rapidly declining academic performance in the schools. In the 2008 school board elections where there were five vacant positions up for election, Munro-Morris was trounced at the polls and finished 8th out of the 10 candidates vying for those five positions. How did a woman with this record of failure become a city councilmember? Well it was due to a flawed election petition that eliminated much of the competition as well as the support of Comptroller Maureen Walker. Another question to ask is why would someone who claims to be fiscally responsible back a candidate who played a substantial role in the skyrocketing school taxes that are now forcing city homeowners out of their homes? There is some good news though, Diane Munro-Morris is only filling a vacant term that expires next year, so she will be up for re-election very soon. If she doesn't change her ways and become an independent and responsible voice for city residents, we will have an opportunity to remove her from office in 2011.

Mount Vernon residents, this new City Council does not represent you. They represent and work to fulfill the agenda of Maureen Walker. Continue to pay attention and spread the word. Only when they realize that their actions have consequences will they understand they they must work to move our city forward for the benefit of our citizens and not to benefit a Comptroller with greater political ambitions.

Mount Vernon City Council's Runaway Train places city's finances at risk

All Aboard the Mount Vernon City Council's Runaway Train

They Just Don't Get it

Well, just about six weeks into the new City Council's tenure, two things have become abundantly clear...they will stop at nothing to avoid transparency and they will carry out Queen Maureen's agenda without fail.

Last night, the new Mount Vernon City Council voted to eliminate the city's Office of the Inspector General. Maureen's Four Blind Mice just sent a clear signal that Mount Vernon is now back to the days of corruption and fraud that occurred during the Davis administration. No wonder really as both Council President Yuhanna Edwards and Councilwoman Watts, along with their leader Maureen Walker, were all intimately involved with Davis Administration and did nothing to stop the criminal activity when it happened on their watch. Edwards will tell you that departments can police themselves and that the Comptroller can conduct audits of any department at any time. However, Comptroller Walker had these audit powers when millions of taxpayer dollars were being swiped from under her nose and she did nothing about it then. What makes Edwards think that she is willing to do anything about it now?


Chooooooo Chooooooo!!! Comptroller and City Council Raid City's Contingency Fund

Folks, the saga continues and gets even better. In an effort to restore funding to re-hire Maureen's Chief Accountant in the Comptroller's Office, Maureen Walker wrote a letter to the City Council asking them to transfer funds out of two budget lines - one to pay the city's insurance premiums and the other to pay the city's social security obligations to the Social Security Administration. This letter is public record and can be obtained by filing a Freedom of Information request with the City Clerk's office. When the sunlight was focused on this illegal and financially dangerous ploy, she scurried back into retreat and revised her plans. However, she is up to her fiscally risky ways yet again. Last night, at the City Council meeting, Maureen Walker and her lackeys, along with Steven Horton, raided the city's Contingency Fund to re-hire her Chief Accountant and to raise the salary of Nichelle Johnson, the part-time holder of the entry-level Legislative Assistant position within the City Council's office (more on that below). Now readers, this contingency fund serves as a last resort when the city faces an emergency situation. With declining revenues and federal, state and county funding commitments being cut regularly these days, we must act conservatively and hold onto this fund for stormy times. Using it to hire back a $112,000/year accountant in an office with an army of accountants and $100,000+ salaries makes no financial sense and puts the city at risk. We can only hope that Maureen's councilservants wake up and apply the brakes to this risky and dangerous behavior before it is too late.

Highest Paid 25 Hour/Week Employee in the State?

As mentioned above, they are still attempting to increase the part-time salary of Legislative Assistant Nichelle Johnson from $35,000 to $85,000. Now you may be saying to yourself, "I thought that the City Council already voted to raise her 25 hour a week salary to $85,000/year." Well reader, you are not imagining things - the City Council did indeed pass legislation to transfer money's around to give their friend Ms. Johnson a 242% pay raise. However, for some inexplicable reason, that pay increase was put on hold at a Board of Estimate meeting. Now, Maureen's councilservants are at it again and have approved legislation to increase Ms. Johnson's salary to $89,000/year - a 254% pay increase. That salary would make Ms. Johnson one of the very highest paid 25 hour per week workers in the state. Not bad for what is traditionally an entry level position.

There was this thing called an "Agenda"

Further proof of the shady goings on with the new City Council involves the council Agenda for each of their meetings. Prior to this year, you used to be able to stop by the City Clerk's office where, by the afternoon, there was an agenda available of the legislation that was to be voted on that night by your elected city councilpersons. This agenda allowed the public advance notice of the items/actions before the council that night. However, with the New Year and the new city council, the agenda is no longer available until you walk into the council chambers at 7pm for the start of their meetings. The last three meetings have seen no agenda available in advance. Why is this Council President Edwards? How about you Councilmembers Watts, Munro and Appuzo? All of you ran together on a Maureen Walker carried ticket and each of you espoused transparency and leadership. Yet, all we've gotten so far is secrecy and collusion with the Comptroller to support her agenda of division and destruction. Leadership involves following your own judgement of what is right and wrong. Where is the leadership from the new City Council?

Oh but Mr. Edwards is not done yet

Political patronage seems to be Council President Edwards modus operandi. In addition to hiring his friend Ms. Johnson and giving her a massive pay raise, Yuhanna Edwards has also hired long-time friend and employee of his, Patricia Fleming, to a part-time position within the City Clerk's office. So the question for Mr. Edwards is this: in addition to her part-time salary from the city, is Ms. Fleming still on your private payroll as well?

The Roadrunner is getting desperate

Last week, after the big snowstorm, the "Roadrunner Express", an email newsletter apparently sent out by an Ernie Davis loyalist and campaign manager for City Council candidates Edwards, Watts, Munro and Appuzo published unsubstantiated allegations against the Mount Vernon DPW. A very low quality photo of a white pickup truck plowing the driveway of a private business was used as evidence of wrongdoing on the part of a DPW worker. However, the photo contained no identifiable marking whatsoever and it clearly was a great stretch by "Roadrunner" to make such outlandish claims in an attempt to smear the city.

Is the publishher of the "Roadrunner" cracking under the pressure of continuously having to manufacture lies and fiction in order to drag this city down until Maureen Walker has a chance to run for Mayor?

Finally...

Keep up the pressure good people. There are clear signs that the new City Council is allergic to sunlight and is reacting to it by retreating on some of their blatantly risky legislative efforts. However, their idea of transparency is rather odd and they need your help to explain it to them. Keep speaking up at council meetings. Keep making the phone calls. Keep forwarding these emails to your friends and family who care about the future of our city.

You can follow the complete story of the new City Council's shenanigans by visiting http://www.mvexposed.blogspot.com

City Council President Edwards - oh what a tangled web you weave

It seems that Mount Vernon's newly sworn in City Council President has chosen to further align himself with criminal and all around dirtbag Scam Rivers. As previously noted, at a city council meeting on January 13th, Yuhanna Edwards publicly embraced Scammy Sammy in an attempt to position Rivers as an important community asset. Well, Edwards seems to have gone even further off of the deep end when at the Jan 27th council meeting he again praised Rivers, a gun-toting drunk and convicted criminal, and even assigned him marching orders and tasks to work on. What's next Mr. Edwards, creating another $85,000 a year part-time city council office position for Rivers similar to what you did for another close friend?



Scam Rivers, who became infamous this past summer when he was found by New Rochelle police passed out drunk on a doorstoop with a handgun protruding from his waistband. Fortunately, a passerby notified police before someone walked off with the idiot's gun and used it to commit a crime or kill someone. However, Rivers contact with law enforcement last year wasn't just limited to being passed out drunk while armed on a city sidewalk. No, indeed 2009 was a banned year for the career criminal as he was also arrested on the Saw Mill River Parkway after being pulled over by a county cop who discovered that Rivers was driving with a suspended NYS driver's license and without insurance. Not only was he charged with these crimes, but he also was in possession of a Georgia driver's license. Now state laws are quite clear and they state that you can only possess a driver's license from one state - Rivers had not only a NYS license (currently suspended) but he also had a Georgia DL. Fortunately for the law-abiding citizens of Mount Vernon, reports are that the Westchester County Police went to his home and finally confiscated his gun and he currently does not have driving priveleges in New York State. Since he cannot drive, Scam is often seen walking the streets of Mount Vernon, which may be a good thing for him as his suits seem to be getting tighter and tighter. Could his recent rapid weight gain have anything to do with him slothing at the free buffet tables at the strip clubs owned by his close friend Sam Zherka, who reportedly is also under investigation by the Manhattan D.A.'s office??



Rivers' criminal history isn't just limited to his 2009 dalliances, he has a long record of contact with the law which includes bank theft, harassment and threats of gun violence against women. Sadly, our new City Council President Yuhanna Edwards has chosen to throw in with this despicable character and his fellow Maureen puppets on the council - Watts, Munro and Appuzo are falling right in line. However, this alliance is no surprise as Rivers and the Four Blind Mice are frequent visitors to the comptroller's office in city hall where they receive their marching orders which are clearly to destroy and divide our city for the next two years.



Those concerned with the direction that the new city council will take us really needs to ask themselves this question, do you expect your city council members to embrace and support someone like Sam Rivers? Do you want your city council to follow an agenda of division and destruction? Do you want your city council members to conduct business in the dark, behind closed doors like they did when they voted (with no public notice) to increase the salary of a part-time legislative aide position from $35k to $85k so that their close friend can benefit? How comfortable are you with a City Council President that has made it a point to publicly praise a career criminal?



Mount Vernon, your future is at stake.

Please help to shine a light on this absurdity and forward this email to friends and family.

The NEW Mount Vernon City Council - Week (and a half) in Review

The first get down to business session of the new city council took place on Wednesday, January 13 and Maureen's four council lackeys wasted no time in displaying their lack of independence and leadership. The session started off with public comments by Scam Rivers directed at Councilman Steven Horton. Scam painted Horton as corrupt and unethical, and as usual, provided his own brand of fiction to back up his claims. After the public comments were over and the councilmembers offered their response, Councilman Horton took the high ground and stated simply that since he's been in public service he has acted honorably, ethically and above board. Sadly, when given the opportunity, none of Horton's colleagues on the city council spoke up on his behalf and it was quite shocking that Council President Edwards actually embraced Scam Rivers comments. Well, maybe it wasn't all that shocking since both Edwards and Rivers are under the thumb of the city's Comptroller and all are working together to stifle progress in Mount Vernon until the next mayoral election when Walker expects to be annointed Mayor. Those in the audience couldn't help but wonder how Councilman Horton felt sitting there as his colleagues, people he's known for decades, failed to call out Rivers for his wild and crazy accusations. In their first opportunity to display the leadership and independence that they crow so loudly about, the four failed miserably.



The shenanigans continued the following week at the Board of Estimate meeting. From various reports, it was a typically mundane meeting with routine matters being handled. However, when the official meeting agenda items were all completed and an adjournment was called for by the Mayor, the comptroller indicated to the City Clerk that there were still two items left to be discussed - unbeknownst to anyone in the room other than her royal comptrollerness and her puppet, the City Council President. These remaining items that she was referring to were in sealed envelopes, which were opened and then read to those in attendance. The first of these surprise items was legislation to eliminate the Office of the Inspector General. The second was to transfer the money budgeted under the IG's office to reinstate positions eliminated in the 2010 budget. Among those positions they tried to reinstate were the Chief Accountant position in the comptroller's office (an office that in 2009 had 7 people earning over $100k/year), and the Deputy Registrar's position in the City Clerk's office. In addition, they tried to raise the salary of the vacant part-time Legislative Assistant position from $34k to $50k and they sought to create a brand new position in the City Clerk's office titled Secretary to the Legislative Assistant at a salary of $52k per year. Now I'd like the taxpayers of this city to try and figure out just why a part-time assistant's position, which is essentially entry level work, needs a secretary which would earn more money that the person whom they would work for.



Fortunately, this illegal attempt by the comptroller and city council president was thwarted by the mayor who refused to allow this scheme to go through. It would be interesting for Walker and Edwards to explain to the taxpayers the logic behind such a move. The Office of the Inspector General was funded and staffed by Mayor Young soon after he took office has saved this city millions of dollars in fines and penalties from three high profile fraud/corruption cases that occurred during the Davis regime. Eliminating the OIG's office would send a clear signal to federal and state authorities that Mount Vernon does not have any interest in ridding Mount Vernon of the Davis era fraud and corruption and would put at risk both the city's finances and reputation.



Behind Closed Doors - are they allergic to sunlight?
Sadly, the four blind mice weren't finished with their funny business as a non-scheduled special meeting of the city council was called on less than 24 hours notice. Stymied in their attempt to illegally eliminate the OIG, they went and transferred monies around in the city clerk's budget lines to raise the salary of the vacant part-time Legislative Aide's postion from $34k/year to $85k/year. Again, this is a part time position that is typically filled by recent college grads and is more or less an entry level position, so perhaps someone from the new city council could explain why they felt the need to more than double the salary for this job. They could also explain just why they couldn't wait just 7 more days until the next regularly scheduled city council meeting to conduct this business in a public meeting. Or, are they trying to keep the public in the dark about their true agenda?



Although Edwards is the President of the council, it appears that councilperson Watts is the Walker Lieutenant who is leading this squad. In all, it didn't take long for councilmembers Watts, Edwards, Munro and Appuzo to show that they do not have the best interests of the taxpayer in mind and are more than willing to be led over the edge of a cliff by the pied piper in the comptroller's office. Unfortunately, it appears that they will be taking the rest of the city crashing down with them.