Latest news with #CityCouncil
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Paterson councilman rips AG for delays on 5-year-old election fraud case
PATERSON — William McKoy, who spent 20 years on the City Council, says the state attorney general owes the people of Paterson an explanation for the five-year duration of the still-pending election fraud case against current Council President Alex Mendez. Otherwise, McKoy said the state prosecutors ought to start the trial against Mendez without further delay, assertions he made in statements issued to Paterson Press on June 26 and June 27. 'The residents' and voters' confidence in the justice system has been shattered and must be restored,' McKoy said. 'This is the sole responsibility of the attorney general.' McKoy has more than a passing interest in the was the other candidate in the 3rd Ward council election in May 2020 in which state investigators say Mendez and his campaign staff stole absentee ballots from home mailboxes, destroyed those with votes for McKoy, and replaced them with votes for Mendez. Mendez — who was in the Dominican Republic in recent days based on his social media postings — couldn't be reached for comment. He repeatedly has professed his innocence and predicted he will clear his name when the charges go to trial. McKoy and Mendez — longtime, bitter political rivals — seem to agree on one thing. They both say they are frustrated by the lack of progress in the case. But McKoy has accused Mendez of causing some of the delays, by doing such things as filing motions attempting to have the charges against him dismissed. 'It is entirely understandable that a candidate who competed against Mendez in the election at issue would be frustrated by the alleged criminal acts committed by the defendants,' said Daniel Prochilo, an Attorney General's Office spokesman. Prochilo noted that Mendez has been 'accused of attempting to deprive Paterson residents of a fair and impartially conducted election by submitting fraudulent ballots and vote-by-mail registrations, and of stealing the ballots of prospective voters with intent to deprive them of their votes.' 'But our office doesn't set the trial calendar,' the AG spokesman added. 'Cases are set for trial when the case has reached the appropriate point, as determined by the court. "The discovery of additional acts, additional charges, defense review of discovery, defense pretrial motions, and court rulings can take time before a trial is scheduled, and they are an essential part of the due process that must occur before a defendant's innocence or guilt can be decided,' Prochilo said. The AG's office also has a separate election fraud case from 2020 pending against Paterson's 1st Ward councilman, Michael Jackson. That prosecution has been stalled by a two-year cell phone passcode battle as authorities pursue witness tampering charges against Jackson after a witness recanted testimony, a judge said. In the Mendez case, the AG's office waited 40 months after filing the initial charges to expand the prosecution in Oct. 2023 to include criminal complaints against the councilman's wife, Yohanny, and two of his campaign workers, Omar Ledesma and Iris Ruiz. A grand jury rendered indictments against all the defendants at the end of April. Probable cause documents say investigators have a cooperating witness from within the Mendez camp as well as recordings and photos. 'It is clear that the attorney general has the necessary evidence and eyewitness accounts of his criminal voter fraud activities to successfully prosecute this case and convict him and his criminal associates on all charges,' McKoy said of Mendez. 'The only outstanding question is whether there is the willingness on the part of the attorney general to actually do so before his term in office comes to an end,' McKoy added. 'Having observed the attorney general's commitment to the defense of our civil liberties and constitutional protection under the law, I choose to believe that in the end, justice will ultimately prevail.' In Jun 2020, McKoy successfully filed a court challenge having Mendez's May 2020 election victory nullified. But Mendez defeated McKoy in a special election in Nov. 2020 and did the same in Paterson's 2024 ward contests. In the past, Mendez has dismissed McKoy's attacks on him regarding the election fraud charges as whining by what he called a 'sore loser.' Back in 2020, Mayor Andre Sayegh was one of McKoy's strongest backers in his condemnations of Mendez. Sayegh even made a political contribution to McKoy to help pay his legal fees in the court challenge. But Sayegh and Mendez have forged somewhat of an alliance in the past years, as Mendez became president of the council in July 2023. This article originally appeared on Former Paterson councilman rips AG over election fraud case
CTV News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
City votes to extend downtown tax levy, Oilers event-park not guaranteed
Public hearings still underway as Edmontonians give city council their opinions on supporting the Oilers Event Park using a levy. Jeremy Thompson reports.
Politico
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
NYC leaders reach deal on $116 billion city budget
NEW YORK — New York City will boost funding for immigrant legal services by $41.9 million amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on noncitizens, as Mayor Eric Adams' administration and the City Council struck a final deal on a roughly $116 billion dollar budget days before the deadline. The fiscal year 2026 budget also includes $12.5 million in funding to create a new mayor's office for pro bono legal services, which will focus on providing representation for unaccompanied minors in immigration hearings, Adams' office announced Friday evening. And $10 million will go to a pilot program for free child care for kids two-years-old and younger, expected to cover hundreds of low-income families. That pilot, first reported by Gothamist, comes as presumptive Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani has made free universal child care a central tenet of his affordability-focused platform. 'There are no perfect budgets. But we have come a long way, and this one gets pretty close,' City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said at a press conference announcing the deal. She and the mayor shook hands in the City Hall rotunda Friday afternoon as is tradition. While the two leaders have had an increasingly tense relationship, this year's budget process was relatively free of the drama and public fights that preceded previous deals. 'This has been, in my opinion, the easiest budget that we had to pass, because we knew what we expected from each other, and what we needed to deliver. And we were able to accomplish that,' Eric Adams said. But it wasn't just four years of experience that played a role — the mayor is seeking reelection on an independent ballot line this year and formally launched his campaign Thursday with a rally on the steps of City Hall. He's running on what he's been able to deliver in his first term and promoted his executive budget last month as 'the best budget ever' with a campaign-style event at his high school alma mater in Queens. Funding immigrant legal services could serve as a defense against a political vulnerability for Adams in the general election. The mayor has sought to increase cooperation with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement against noncitizens and moved to reopen a federal office on Rikers Island — a move that's been temporarily blocked following a legal challenge joined by the City Council. Between legal services and the pilot for universal child care, City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan believes that Mamdani's win influenced the mayor to align with the council, which governs to his left. 'There was definitely some movement after Tuesday,' he said. 'Things that the council had been fighting for many years suddenly became more important.' Eric Adams got defensive when asked what changed his mind to add more funding to immigrant legal services. 'I'm the leading voice in the country of making sure people get justice,' he said. 'This is what I've done all my life. So there was no turning point.' Even before the results were final, the mayor showed little appetite for another round of belt-tightening and budget cuts, which in prior years earned him protests, denouncements and even a lawsuit from the city's largest municipal union. The mayor had defended those cuts as necessary to offset the massive, unexpected costs of housing and serving hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers who had come to New York since the spring of 2022. But the number of migrants needing a high level of city services slowed to a trickle before Trump took office — a shift that took the city off its emergency footing and reduced spending in that area. Adrienne Adams and Brannan have also been busy running for higher office over the last several months, pulling them away from City Hall during a time period often dominated by budget talk. Both lost their primaries Tuesday — Adrienne Adams for mayor and Brannan for comptroller — but Brannan said the fiscal situation simply made for less contentious negotiation. 'We were able to focus this time on expanding, instead of what we normally had to do, which is restoring core services,' he said. 'That's what we would have liked to do with the last three budgets.' The City Council is expected to vote Monday to enact the final budget, just ahead of the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. Despite Democrats' concerns about Trump's impact on the economy, city bean counters expect the city to bring in about $116 billion in revenue in the upcoming year — up nearly $1 billion from the executive budget. The S&P 500 hit a record high Friday, a boon for the city's investments, and Adams jokingly took credit. 'Dropped by the Stock Exchange this morning, just saying,'he posted on X. The city is legally required to have a balanced budget and will also keep $8.5 billion in reserve, consistent with last year's spending plan. That wasn't enough for the Citizens Budget Commission, a fiscal watchdog that has consistently advocated for more conservative budgeting practices. 'The New York City fiscal year 2026 budget agreement is unaffordable, unprepared for federal cuts, and underinvests in the Rainy Day Fund despite strong current year revenues,' CBC President Andrew Reins said in a statement. 'Everyone knows that federal risks are real and substantial, yet they are shockingly ignored. Further, a typical recession would sap $11 billion of revenue over two years, which would swamp the City's reserves.' Brannan defended the balance of spending and savings at the press conference. 'Today, we are proving that we can Trump-proof a budget while still investing in what matters most,' he said. Eric Adams did not mention Trump in his remarks. He has maintained a cozy relationship with the president, whose administration pushed to drop the federal corruption charges brought against him earlier this year. Aside from the investments in immigrant legal services and early childcare, the new revenue allowed city leaders to pepper in other additional expenditures. The budget allocates $6.1 million to create a 'Division of Sustainable Delivery' under the Department of Transportation, focused on regulating e-bikes and mopeds — since reckless riders have become the subject of countless constituent complaints to elected officials. The city will also add $900,000 to the New York City Emergency Management agency to fund 10 new employees meant to enhance the city's disaster preparedness. The city has agreed to allocate $70 million to cover evaluations, services and classes for preschoolers with disabilities, fulfilling a request from over 80 organizations including the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York. And where advocates for libraries led aggressive lobbying campaigns to restore proposed cuts in the last two budget cycles, book lovers are getting a slight boost this year: the budget allocates $2 million to allow an additional ten library branches to stay open on Sundays. Madina Touré contributed to this report.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chicopee's next budget is 6% hike from this year. Here's where spending has increased
CHICOPEE — The Chicopee City Council approved its 2026 budget: $276.2 million, 6.45% up over the current year. On Thursday night, heads of six departments in the city, including Mayor John Vieau, schools Superintendent Marcus Ware and Sharyn Riley, the auditor, discussed their planned spending in the upcoming year. The mayor's office was cleared for $563,669.96, a 27% increase from this year's spending. Part of the reason for the hike is because the mayor wants to take a thorough look at more city departments — there is about $40,000 set aside for 'consulting services.' 'We recently used consulting for (the Human Resources Department), and I next want to use it for (Information Technology),' said Vieau. In December, the mayor hired an independent consultant to investigate the HR department, which dealt with a host of problems in the years leading up the investigation. In April, the city appointed a new director for the department. Vieau also said that he would be pausing the city's search for an economic development director, because of changes to grant funding provided by the federal government. The city has not yet received its Community Development Block Grant from U.S. Housing and Urban Development and is looking for other federal grants to help pay for the position. 'We're hopeful to fill this position next year,' he said. Sharyn Riley, city auditor, said she looked for ways to creatively cut spending for the upcoming fiscal year. The Auditing Department was approved for $1.46 million, a nearly 1% decrease from this year's spending. 'I think I'm being as frugal as I can be,' Riley said at the hearing. The School Committee's portion was approved for $131.6 million, a 2.2% increase from the current year. The budget went up by $5 million since fiscal 2025. Chapter 70A funds, which is the state's money for local schools, went up by $6 million, and the city's contribution is set to increase by $1.3 million. 'City costs went up,' said Ware, the superintendent. 'Transportation gets more expensive, and the needs of our students have increased.' About 75% of the district is low-income. He explained a big focus of the upcoming budget was around vacancies, of which there are over 100 open teacher positions. Ware also said the district was looking at other ways to get funding, including being reimbursed by the state Education Department for special education, especially because COVID relief funding expired last fall. The Department of Public Works' enterprise fund, which includes combined sewer overflows, pretreatment and utility services, has the second highest slated funding behind the schools, at $25.79 million. The Human Resources Department falls in third place, with $23.6 million on the budget for fiscal 2026, where medical insurance accounts for its biggest cost. The Chicopee Police and Fire departments' total budgets each increased from fiscal 2025. The Police Department's spending increased by 22.2%, from $15.2 million to $18.6 million, because of the cost of technology and to pay for increases in collective bargaining contracts. The Fire Department increased by about 1%, going from $14.5 million to $14.6 million. Westside, CSX have federal money for bad Memorial Ave. rail crossing, but who will care for it over the long haul? Companies admit construction errors at Westfield runway project, will pay $1.37M Holyoke police website down, but it's not hacked ... just an expired credit card Holyoke schools, union at odds over 'exit assurances' during transition to local control Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Redding group supporting sales tax hike on November ballot crosses first hurdle
A group of Redding community leaders turned in more than 9,500 signatures in their effort to put a 1 cent sales tax on the November ballot. Group spokesman Dennis Morgan, a local realtor, said organizers delivered 9,567 signatures to the city of Redding's clerk's office on June 18. The citizens group needs 5,816 verified signatures, which is 10% of the registered voters in Redding, to put the measure on the ballot, according to Redding City Clerk Sharlene Tipton. Morgan said he received an email from the city that said the signatures were delivered to the Shasta County Registrar of Voter's office on Wednesday, June 25. 'They have 30 working days to certify the signatures,' Morgan said of the county ROV. If the measure gets on the ballot and passes, the sale tax in Redding would go from 7.25% to 8.25%, generating an extra $30 million in annual revenue, City Manager Barry Tippin has said. This is the third attempt to raise the sales tax in Redding to help fund quality of life issues such as public safety. This latest effort would need a simple majority to pass and it comes as the city is facing an estimated $5 million budget deficit. Revenue generated from sales tax, property taxes and other sources hasn't for years been enough to keep up with repairs and improvements to streets, buildings, parks and Redding's two airports, Tippin has told the City Council. Morgan said supporters of a sales tax want to put the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot, which means it would be a special election for Redding voters. It took the group two months to collect the 9,567 signatures. 'We started at Kool April Nites, that Saturday, and we got them done pretty quickly,' Morgan said. Related: 3 Redding leaders pushing for sales tax come forward: Everything to know He said volunteers focused on community events like Kool April Nites and the Redding Rodeo, and commercial retail centers in their signature-gathering efforts. "The process has been good. Most people, they understand and are really for it. Because it's a specific tax, that really helps," Morgan said. Annual audits would be done to verify the funds are spent correctly. Too, the city council would appoint people to a citizens advisory committee to provide more oversight. Here is where the money would go: Roads: 30% spent on maintenance, repairs and improvements. Redding Fire Department: 13% allocated to construction and staffing of ninth fire station, upgrades and improvements to the other fire stations, equipment, and at least 3.5% of the fire department's cut to fire mitigation efforts like fuel reduction. Redding Police Department: 12% allocated to additional staffing, equipment and facilities. Shasta County Sheriff's Office: 12% allocated to address repeat offenders and jail capacity. Browning said the money would specifically go to the new alternative custody campus proposed by Sheriff Michael Johnson. Whether the money goes to the sheriff's office would hinge on an agreement between the city and Shasta County. If no agreement is reached within two years of voter approval, this portion of the money would go to Redding police. Parks: 9% spent on construction, improvements and maintenance, including Redding Sports Park, California Soccer Park, South City Park, Caldwell Park and Panorama Park. Redding Civic Auditorium, Redding Rodeo Grounds: 6% allocated to the former, 3% to the latter. Redding Regional Airport: 5% allocated toward building an additional terminal, staffing and general operations of all airport facilities. David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He's part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding sales tax supporters deliver signatures for ballot measure
