Gas Ahead: Comptroller Obeys Court Order To Pay Fuel Bills

MOUNT VERNON, NY — City vehicles, including police, fire and public works equipment will once again have fuel in the tanks after Comptroller Deborah Reynolds paid past due bills owed to two city fuel vendors. With the accounts brought up to date, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawn Patterson-Howard says city fuel pumps will again be flowing in a matter of hours.

“I want to thank you Comptroller Reynolds for paying the fuel bills to Sprague and United Metro. So, Comptroller Reynolds did comply with our judge’s orders,” Mayor Patterson-Howard said Friday evening in a statement posted to social media. “She was ordered to pay Sprague and United Metro by 12 noon. Look, she paid them by 1:55 [p.m.]. I’m not mad. But the bills are paid. We will be receiving a delivery of both diesel and gas fuel either tonight or tomorrow to our DPW yard as well as to our fire stations.”

In a virtual hearing Wednesday evening, Judge Anne Minihan ordered Comptroller Deborah Reynolds to pay the overdue fuel bills by noon on Friday to the two vendors who supply gas and diesel for city vehicles. Earlier this week, the vendors Sprague and United Metro cut the city off from fuel delivery over the outstanding balances and left city vehicles, including police and fire department emergency vehicles, fuel rationing with as few as five gallons of gas in the tanks.

Patterson-Howard said the Department of Public Works yard would immediately receive 2000 gallons of gas and two fire stations would also get an emergency shipment of 2ooo gallons of fuel. The mayor said the city would continue to be conservative with fuel consumption in order to stay “in good graces” with the fuel companies, but she said the immediate fuel crisis has passed.

Mayor Patterson-Howard thanked citizens who helped put pressure on the comptroller to obey the judge’s order. She also praised Judge Minihan for issuing the ruling and thanked Comptroller Reynolds for complying with the instructions.