Council members concerned by budget agreement between Yonkers and the state of New York

Some Yonkers City Council members are concerned that New York's solution to fixing the school budget's deficit is taking control away from the city and voters. The state is lending $45 million to Yonkers

News 12 Staff

May 21, 2014, 1:40 AM

Updated 3,996 days ago

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Some Yonkers City Council members are concerned that New York's solution to fixing the school budget's deficit is taking control away from the city and voters.
The state is lending $45 million to Yonkers schools to solve an accounting error in the district's budget. Along with the loan, New York is also demanding Yonkers' entire budget follow its directives, which has some city council members outraged.
"It's taking, effectively, the voice of the people away in Yonkers," says Councilman John Larkin (R). Larkin says he isn't confident the same office that never noticed the original mistake should be monitoring the city.
Yonkers City Council has hired an attorney to take a closer look at the agreement's wording. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano (D) defended the agreement, saying it's about transparency and not taking away control.