Board of Estimate & Contract

City of Mount Vernon, New York 1 ROOSEVELT SQ. RM. 104 CITY HALL, MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK 10550 & VIA FACEBOOK.COM/MOUNTVERNONNY Meeting Minutes - Final Monday, August 25, 2025 5:00 PM CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS Board of Estimate & Contract Special Meeting NICOLE BONILLA, MBA City Clerk JORDAN RIULLANO, JD Deputy City Clerk Board of Estimate & Contract Special Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final August 25, 2025 Call to Order: At 5:00 PM by Chairwoman Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard Roll Call: Roll Call and reading of agenda items administered by Deputy City Clerk Jordan A. Riullano. Noticed in the Journal News. PRESENT Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, President Danielle Browne Esq., and Comptroller Darren Morton ABSENT None OTHERS: Chief of Staff Malcolm Clark, Corporation Counsel Brian Johnson, Deputy City Clerk Jordan A. Riullano, Assistant Comptroller Condell Hamilton ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGENDA RESOLUTIONS APPROVING ORDINANCES 1. TMP -1580 Code: LPW Attachments: Referral letter for the entire staff to attend free Laserfiche training on Long Island 08-2025 Moved: Council President Browne, Seconded by Comptroller Morton On the question: none. Response: Comptroller Morton: We have become familiar with the new travel expense policy. It is les than 300 miles, and less than $500 need for this trip. Does not need to come from this budget line adopted Aye: Mayor Patterson-Howard, President Browne, and Comptroller Morton Nay: None Absent: None Page 1 of 3 Board of Estimate & Contract Special Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final August 25, 2025 2. TMP -1582 Code: PSC Attachments: Firefighter Positionsv2 Moved: Council President Browne, Seconded by Comptroller Morton On the question: none. Response: Mayor Patterson - Howard: Commissioner holt please explain this and why these positions are needed. Commissioner holt - one of our concerns is the amount of overtime and we are looking to limit these hours. We were spending more than 3 million over the past couple of years and limited vehicles. We didn’t have the manpower to cover these shifts and this became a problem. Mayor SPH - so to meet mandatory staffing, we need these additional personnel. Commissioner Holt - absolutely. So, we are proposing the additional of these 10 spots to help with the response time and reduce the amount of time a person is hurt. It will help us also cut back on the amount of overtime, saving money for the city and giving the people of Mount Vernon a quicker response time. Something of this magnitude hasn’t happened since 1959. By adding these positions, we can keep other workers safe. Comptroller Morton - So there are a few factors that come into play with overtime and the firefighters. So please explain more about why this is the time we need to do this as opposed to 2026 Commissioner Holt - doing this will allow the other officers to be promoted in December and allow those officers who requested off during that time period to be able to take off. This will also allow the officers in the academy to come out of the academy and fill these shifts needed, lowering the amount of overtime needed to cover the officers requesting off. We have a plan to address officers and their time off and vacancy, as well as help with the firefighters being promoted as well, going into 2026. Comptroller Morton - so first, we want to congratulate the leadership on taking this challenge and looking at the overtime and understand where the trends are. For the past 2 years the fire department has been over the budgeted amount of overtime, so we commend them on watching these overtime hours and correcting the issue. Looking at the numbers it does look like there is a decrease, but we want to keep this trend going, but if we don’t do this moving forward, the adverse effect on the city will be even greater. So, I just want to make sure we are working with the administration and closely monitor this and any other tactics we can take to ensure safety, even with the onset of new projects happening. Commissioner Holt - Safety is our priority all around, and by doing this, it will increase the safety for our firefighters and officers, as well as better our response time. So, we appreciate we have the backing of the administration to make this agenda happen. Again, we believe this would be great for the city of mount Vernon. Mayor SPH: Thank you. Additionally, the first class we sent to the academy was this year. So, Page 2 of 3 Board of Estimate & Contract Special Meeting Meeting Minutes - Final August 25, 2025 we are glad we have a new list, a fresh list, and we need to do this now, so we have people ready to fill in into these shifts and help our city. If we don’t, we won’t have anyone for the next 6 months to cover these shifts. adopted Aye: Mayor Patterson-Howard, President Browne, and Comptroller Morton Nay: None Absent: None SALARY RESOLUTION(S) 3. TMP -1583 Attachments: FIRE DEPARTMENT - SALARY RESOLUTION FOR THE ADDITION OF TEN FIREFIGHTERS Moved: Council President Browne, Seconded by Comptroller Morton On the question: none. Response: none. adopted Aye: Mayor Patterson-Howard, President Browne, and Comptroller Morton Nay: None Absent: None Agenda was concluded at 5:19 PM Chairwoman Patterson-Howard asked if there was new business: Mayor asked for a motion to adjourn. Moved: Council President Browne, Seconded by Comptroller Morton On the question: none. approved Aye: Mayor Patterson-Howard, President Browne, and Comptroller Morton Nay: None Absent: None There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:19 PM Jordan Riullano, JD Deputy City Clerk Page 3 of 3