City inspector’s office makes major strides in cleaning up Mount Vernon

In less than a year on the job, City Inspector Scott Zimmerman and Assistant City Inspector Brian Marvin have made quite the impact on the city of Mount Vernon.

Zimmerman took over as City Inspector on April 7, 2025, and Marvin followed shortly after on April 21. Their job was to administer and enforce the provisions of the city’s property maintenance ordinances.

He said during a news conference Tuesday that they have sent out 650 letters of code violations, varying from high grass and trash to junk vehicles, to city residents with approximately 80 percent of those violations already resolved.

As 2026 begins, the department is taking on new responsibilities, including a new computer system that tracks costs, property violations and letters sent to city residents.

“We’ve hit the ground running here in the new year,” Zimmerman said. “We’re trying on a new system called OpenGov. A lot of municipalities and villages use this. It’s going to be user-friendly for the public. It’s also got a tracking system on it so we can track our costs, how many properties we’ve worked on, how many violation letters. It’s going to be a good way to track the department’s activities throughout the year.”

Zimmerman said most people have been responsive to their requests, but reiterated that anyone receiving a letter of violations can call his office to discuss it. He said there is no truth to the rumors the city is creating new laws, that they are just enforcing laws that have been on the books since at least 2014.

This year Zimmerman said they will begin working on a vacant building registration and attempt to clean up those properties. He said there are quite a few vacant properties, and it would be nice to have a list of them so that police and fire employees will know whether there are people inside before risking running into an empty building.

He also noted the city will be holding several events to help residents get rid of unwanted junk or tires this year. A tire recycling event is set for March 28, from 8 a.m. until noon; a citywide yard sale trail will be offered May 1-2; and the spring clean-up day will be May 9, from 8 a.m. until noon.

Also at the news conference, Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan reported his officers responded to 16,879 calls during 2025. He said that is up a bit from previous years and averages out to approximately two calls per hour. Police responded to 710 traffic crashes, around 300 theft calls, 188 assaults and 223 domestic violations. Morgan also reported there were a record 185 OVI citations.

Morgan also noted that Andrew Cotter recently completed training to become a state Drug Recognition Expert. That will allow Cotter to testify in court as an expert in identifying drugs, drug patterns and controlled substances and their prosecution.

Two things the MVPD are working on this spring is a schedule of events for PAK United, as well as getting ready for construction to begin on the new police station on Sychar Road. Morgan said they are finishing up some of the smaller details and hope to begin construction in around 90 days.

Mount Vernon Fire Chief Chad Christopher also reported his department responded to 6,204 calls during 2025, which is about the same as the year before. With a recent fire damaging a property on Shalimar Drive, Christopher reminded residents to check their chimneys for build-up and make sure the fireplaces are in good working condition.

He also noted Charlie Atkinson began as a new firefighter/medic for the department this week and that they are hoping a new medic vehicle will arrive around the first of February. The MVFD will be giving its station a facelift this spring with work on the flooring and painting.

Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr reported the onboarding of new councilmembers Dale Miller and Tyler Jacklin is going well. They will attend their first council meetings on Monday.

He also noted the Capt. Hunter’s Landing Splash Pad will open the weekend of Memorial Day and that fireworks will be held July 4 at Ariel-Foundation Park. The city also plans to hold trick or treat on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 5:30-7 p.m.