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Mount Vernon URA votes to write off $174,509.09 in old, unrecorded loans
Summary
The Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency unanimously approved a resolution to write off $174,509.09 in bad debt tied to loans dating from 1984–2015 after staff said liens were never recorded with the Westchester County Clerk and the debts are not collectible.
The Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency voted 5-0 Tuesday to adopt resolution 2025-010, approving the write-off of $174,509.09 in bad debt identified in the agency's 2020 audit.
Agency staff told the board the loans on the attached list cannot be enforced because the mortgage or lien paperwork was not recorded with the Westchester County Clerk and many borrowers or businesses no longer match the recorded property owners. Mayor (name not specified) told the board the loans range from March 1984 to February 2015 and were made over multiple administrations. “I think we’ve established that these monies were uncollectible,” the mayor said during the discussion.
The write-off follows internal and external reviews dating back to at least 2016, when an URA attorney and staff investigated collectibility. Staff said previous attempts to enforce the loans were hampered because required documents were not submitted for recording; the URA’s attorney at the time, Greg Young, is deceased, staff said. The current comptroller also paused prior write-off efforts in 2022 to allow additional due diligence before bringing the matter to the board.
Staff presented a broader accounting impact beyond the resolution: agency representatives said carrying long‑outstanding receivables has distorted the URA balance sheet and that prior practices contributed to program income that was not recycled. At one point during the discussion staff cited a larger, related loss on the books of about $874,000 that reflects decades of uncollectible receivables and accounting classifications.
Board members and staff emphasized steps they will require before returning to loan-making: formalized policies and procedures, recording agreements with the Westchester County Clerk when loans are executed, and clearer procurement and monitoring so future program income can be recycled rather than lost. The URA’s administrator said a policy and procedure package will be brought to the board before any new housing-rehab or small-business loan program is launched.
The motion to adopt resolution 2025-010 passed unanimously (5-0).
