Lawmakers in Mount Vernon are arguing over raising property taxes to close a budget shortfall.

Councilman Richard Thomas says the majority of the Mount Vernon City Council voted Thursday night to raise property taxes by 19 percent to help close a $6.6 million shortfall in the 2013 budget.

Thomas says he was not in favor of the new property taxes. "This is fiscal management at its worst," he says.

According to Thomas, the average homeowner in Mount Vernon currently pays about $349 in property taxes each year. With a 19 percent increase, that would amount to an extra $45 a month or $540 extra a year.

Mayor Ernie Davis says Councilman Thomas "should be in the movies, because what he says is always fictitious and designed to get attention."

Councilman Yuhanna Edwards says what the majority of council members voted on was an authorization to transfer funds from the city's reserve to offset the deficit.

Davis says the people are not paying any more than normal for 2014.

Thomas maintains that the city's reserve fund is at zero and doesn't have the money to offset a budget shortfall. He says the only way to avoid the shortfall is with a 19 percent property tax increase.

News 12 is told the next step is Davis sitting down with the city's comptroller to go over numbers.