Mayor says Monessen near bankruptcy
City streets are caving in and city coffers are drying up, Monessen Mayor Lou Mavrakis said.
And he believes his hometown is headed toward bankruptcy.
So the mayor wrote a letter to President Obama, proclaiming, “I need your help.”
In the letter dated April 13, Mavrakis told the president that his lifelong home “has fallen on hard times, but has so much potential.”
“My wife and I are ardent supporters of your presidency and your vision for America,” Mavrakis wrote.
Mavrakis detailed the city’s population demise, now at 7,500. He wrote that state and federal officials have given the city “lip service.” He questioned why the federal government gives aid to foreign nations but be believes not enough funding communities across the country.
Mavrakis told the president he believes Congress derailed Obama’s infrastructure plans.
“Mr. President, it appears to me that you may be Monessen’s last hope,” Mavrakis said. “Please help us get on the road to recovery. We honestly are on the brink of financial collapse.”
Mavrakis said he wrote the letter because he feels the city has no hope. He said infrastructure problems abound in the city, noting that recently three streets – on Herron Avenue, at 12th Street and Highland Avenue, and at Ninth Street and Morgan Avenue – collapsed.
The mayor said he wants city officials to sell the current city offices and use the money to finance infrastructure repairs citywide.
Mavrakis claimed the city will run out of money by the end of July. He said the city has received most its tax revenues for the year.
“We’re headed straight for Act 47,” Mavrakis said.
“We can’t live day to day. Only an influx of millions of dollars is going to save us.”