CORRECTION: MOUNT VERNON CITY OFFICIALS DID NOT VIOLATE NYS OPEN MEETINGS LAW; MEETING NOTICE HIDDEN ON CITY OF MOUNT VERNON WEBSITE

Mayor Clinton I. Young Jr

Management Services Commissioner Mary Young

Mount Vernon Exposed previously reported information that was incorrect.  Mount Vernon Exposed reported that The City Council meeting held on Wednesday January 13^th, 2010 was unlawful and was not properly noticed and posted to the City of Mount Vernon’s website as required by law. The meeting indeed was properly noticed and posted to The City of Mount Vernon’s website in accordance with the law.

However, the notice of the meeting was hidden on the City of Mount Vernon’s website that is not very user friendly.  Elected City Council members have no control whatsoever on where the content is placed on the City of Mount Vernon’s  website.  Management Services Commissioner Mary Young is charged with the responsibilty of maintaining the City of Mount Vernon’s website. 

Mayor Young and his cronies did not want to have any connection to the previous administration when they took office on January 1^st, 2008.  That meant destroying anything created by former Mayor Ernie Davis even if it improved the quality of life and made things easier for Mount Vernon taxpayers. 

The website created by the former administration was very user friendly and updated frequently.  One would just have to go to the calender of events to see what was happening in the City of Mount Vernon.  If a day of the month was highlighted for a particular month, an event was scheduled for that day.  You would then just click on the highlighted date to find out the time and place of the scheduled event.  Simple.

Management Services Commissioner Mary Young chose to do away with the previous administrations website.  The website currently maintained by the City of Mount Vernon was not updated on a frequent basis.  The City of Mount Vernon just started within the last month or so to update its website on a more frequent basis and only because the City of Mount Vernon was taken to court for not doing so. 

Justice William J. Giacomo wrote in his decision;  (Samuel L. Rivers –vs- Mayor Clinton I. Young et al.)

“Such discretionary postings open a Pandora’s box of slippery slope possibilities where an institution or organization entrusted with serving the public could post notices that only served its agenda. Such discretionary postings would fly in the face of the transparency and openness the Open Meetings Laws were designed to ensure.”

Commissioner Mary Young and her staff members chose not to put the City Council and the Board of Estimate meetings under the “City Meetings and Events” banner on the website.  Anyone with just even an ounce of common sense would agree that a patron visiting the City of Mount Vernon’s website would click on “ City Meetings and Events” to find out what is going on in the City of Mount Vernon.  To find out when the next City Council or Board of Estimate meeting is one would have to go through a series of steps.  Mount Vernon Exposed has developed easy to follow instructions for locating City Council and Board of Estimate meetings. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LOCATING UPCOMING

 CITY COUNCIL AND BOARD OF ESTIMATE MEETINGS

1. Open up your favorite web browser and go to www.cmvny.com
2. Point your mouse to the tab that says “Government”.  Several subsections will be displayed.  Roll your mouse over “Departments A-L”, then roll you mouse over to “City Clerk” and click on City Clerk. You will then be taken to the City Clerk Home Page
3.  At the City Clerk home page, scroll down on the left until you see the “Meetings” link and click. You will then be taken to the City Council and Board of Estimate meetings scheduled for 2010 

or

Just save this link for easy access

http://cmvny.com/cmsget?exporturi=/export/sites/cmvny3/departments/cic/meetings.html

City Council and Board of Estimate Schedule 2010

STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE CITY COUNCIL 2010

President                                        J. YUHANNA EDWARDS

President Pro Tem                         KAREN WATTS

Acting President Pro Tem             DIANE MUNRO-MORRIS

LEGISLATION AND PUBLIC WORKS

DIANE MUNRO-MORRIS, CHAIR

ROBERTA L. APUZZO

J. YUHANNA EDWARDS

OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK, LAV'I DEPARTMENT, MANAGEMENT SERVICES, MAYOR'S OFFICE, CHARTER REVISION, PUBLIC WORKS, RAILROADS AND BRIDGES, WATER DEPARTMENT, PARKS, CITY PROPERTY.

HUMAN RESOURCES

ROBERTA L. APUZZO, CHAIR

KAREN WATTS

J. YUHANNA EDWARDS

HEALTH AND HUMAN WELFARE, HUMAN RIGHTS, SENIOR CITIZEN AFFAIRS, RECREATION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, YOUTH BUREAU, CIVIL SERVICE, MEMORIAL FIELD, HUMAN RESOURCES. 

PUBLIC SAFETY AND CODES

KAREN WATTS, CHAIR

STEVEN HORTON

J. YUHANNA EDWARDS

POLICE DEPARTMENT FIRE DEPARTMENT, CIVIL DEFENSE, BUILDINGS AND CODE ENFORCEMENT, CONSUMER AFFAIRS, ZONING, PARKING AUTHORITY PET CONTROL.

FINANCE AND PLANNING

STEVEN HORTON, CHAIR

DIANE MUNRO-MORRIS

J. YUHANNA EDWARDS

BUDGET, TAXES AND ASSESSMENT, PLANNING, GRANTS AND FUNDED

PROGRAMS, CITY-OWNED PROPERTY (UNDER JURISDICTION OF FINANCE) DOLES CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER, MOUNT VERNON PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND  INSPECTOR GENERAL.