To the Editor:
The newly elected Mount Vernon Supervisor Storck demonstrated at the Board of Supervisor’s (BOS) hearing on March 3 regarding the County Executive’s proposed advertised tax rate of four cents that he is a high tax politician.
He made a motion to nearly double the advertised proposed County Executive tax rate from four cents to seven cents per hundred of assessed values. Fortunately for the hard working taxpayers the motion was defeated on a 3-7 vote.
All Mount Vernon residents particularly those who voted to elect Supervisor Storck should ask him to provide his reasons for nearly doubling the real estate tax rate increase. Also, what proposal has he made to cut wasteful spending to provide taxpayers relief instead of increasing the tax burdens?
Here are some examples of wasteful spending: In 2014 the BOS gave certain county employees bonuses totaling $10 million whether they earned it or not, bailed out a bank for a $30 million unsecured loan that was made to an arts foundation, having subsidized housing in plush neighborhoods where units sell for a million dollars, buying property paying millions of dollars more than the assessed value and owning 127 vacant parcels of property that are off the tax rolls losing millions of tax revenue. Then in 2015 the supervisors rewarded themselves with a hefty pay raise although they were already being paid more than supervisors of surrounding counties.
There are a number of schools not fully accredited or do not prepare students for college. Yet, the school system is demanding more tax money. The BOS should demand School Board members be held accountable before allocating more money for schools. The students and taxpayers deserve no less.
Supervisor Storck should also be asked to discuss his analysis of major taxpayer financed programs and services that he has determined are essential, and if so, are they being administered in the most efficient and economical way to support his contention of proposing to advertise a seven cent instead of a four cent tax rate hike as proposed by the county executive.
All supervisors should get wasteful spending under control and make sure all programs and services are essential and administered economically before they sock it to taxpayers again by raising the real estate taxes.
Let Supervisor Storck hear from you. Silence will only bring about more of the same for the already burdened and hardworking taxpayers.
Frank Medico
Mount Vernon