The Sound & Town Report has a strong article out this weekend about how the Village Budget Committee and its recommendations have been ignored by the current Mayor and Board of Trustees.

The piece backs up one of our messages during this campaign — that instead of being ignored or abandoned, Mamaroneck’s official volunteer committees should be engaged more actively and their recommendations considered by the Board of Trustees more seriously.

Chaired by Leon Potok, the Budget Committee was making progress. During a meeting with Harbor Master Joseph Russo, ideas for increasing revenue were put on the table. The committee sought to continue that conversation and meet with other department heads to make similar evaluations on revenues and efficiencies — but was denied access to these Village employees by the Mayor.

The article also points out that $750,000 in outstanding parking tickets have been left uncollected by the outside vendor hired in 2010 to manage these fines. The Budget Committee has recommended that the Village take a more active role in monitoring collections. But, as with other recommendations, this idea has not even been considered by the Trustees.

You can read the article for yourself.

New leadership is needed in Mamaroneck to make sure that the Mayor and Trustees welcome the efforts of our volunteer committees, engage in open discussions with Village residents, and serve with respect and transparency.