Who has blood in their hands??? The Mayor or the Mt Vernon City Council

******* IT’S NOT LOCAL UNLESS IT’S YONKERS VOICE ******

Some members of the Mt. Vernon City Council recently held a press conference regarding the recent cultural event in Hutchinson Field and the homicide of Orville Bell. The City Council was quick to blame the Mayor for all the negativity in the city. They implied it was the Mayors doing that caused the crime to occur due to the fact that the Mayor chose to issue a permit without following proper protocol and council approval . Question : Would the council have approved the permit for the Jamaican community? We would like to think so. Then who would they have blamed had they issued it? It seems that the Mayor is doing everything he can so the wonderful  tapestry of cultures can enjoy the recreational facilities and services. The antagonists against the Mayor blame him for all the recent crime in the city. Well folks, here are the facts; The council eliminated the position of the MVPD Commissioner as well as 20 P.O. positions. The Mayor and the MVPD have been requesting funding for the past year for 12 additional police officers as well as funding for a camera monitoring project, license plate readers, drone project, mobile devices, software, body worn cameras, as well as other funding for the MVPD to continue the work of  policing and keeping  Mt. Vernon safe. The radios that are currently used are no longer produced. So why is the council not supplying the MVPD with the necessary funding needed in order to secure the safety of the good people of Mt. Vernon? Is the council afraid of change and want to keep the status quo that surely is not working? The city council has continually sabotaged the Mayors vision for a safer Mt. Vernon. What are they afraid of? Why aren’t they listening to the people? The people of Mt. Vernon voted in a young Mayor with a new and robust vision to move the city forward . The constituents want change and that is why they voted for Mayor Richard Thomas. But, the council members have chosen defiance as opposed to the safety of the people. A young mind with a new vision on safety,education, technology and infrastructure is what the people have chosen . And yet, the council has refused to fund the necessary requirements for the MVPD. In a recent court ruling, the judge ruled that the council had no authority to impede the Mayors hiring of staff. Yet, the council continues to look for ways to stop progress .

So the question remains; Who has blood in their hands, the  Mayor or the City Council ? Clearly the answer is the City Council .