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Mount Vernon joins Westchester municipalities to hire special counsel in Con Edison rate case
Summary
City council approved a resolution to join other Westchester municipalities in hiring special counsel to challenge proposed Con Edison rate increases before the New York Public Service Commission.
The Mount Vernon City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to authorize a resolution that joins neighboring Westchester municipalities in hiring special counsel to represent their collective interests in Con Edison’s pending electric and gas rate case before the New York State Public Service Commission.
Acting President Ed Poteet moved the item after Councilwoman Gleason introduced the resolution. Mayor Sean Patterson Howard told the council the measure arose from discussions with the Westchester Municipal Officers Association and that 28 municipalities had already agreed to participate; Mount Vernon would become the 29th. The mayor said Con Edison has proposed “service delivery charges” that local leaders view as excessive and that a coordinated legal challenge is necessary.
The resolution authorizes the hiring of Joel R. Dichter of Dichter Law LLC as special counsel. The mayor said attorney fees and expert witness costs had been estimated together at about $80,000 for attorney fees and $20,000–$30,000 for specialists, with participating municipalities splitting the total. Early per-jurisdiction cost estimates discussed during the meeting ranged from a planned $5,000 (based on 20 municipalities) to a later per-municipality estimate “about $3,200” as more municipalities signed on.
Council members said they supported the step. After roll call, the record shows Councilman Boxhill, Councilwoman Gleason, Councilman Thompson and Acting President Poteet voted “aye.”
The resolution authorizes the city to join the multi-municipal filing; it does not itself bind the city to any payment beyond the ordinary municipal authorization process. Council members described the action as a coordinated effort to contest rate-setting processes that they said appear opaque and to seek negotiated relief through the PSC process.
The council did not debate alternative legal strategies at length during the meeting; the motion passed and the city will move forward with the joint representation arrangement alongside other Westchester municipalities.
