Councilman Resigns Over Town Mismanagement, Citing Deficient Oversight

Mount Pleasant Councilman Mark Saracino has resigned from the Town Board, leaving with 18 months remaining in his term and delivering sharp criticism of how the current administration manages the town. In his resignation letter, Saracino cited ongoing deficiencies in budgetary and operational oversight, internal controls, risk management, and the stewardship of public assets — concerns he said he had documented for two years while his recommendations went largely ignored.

He pointed to contracts, change orders, and costly settlements the Board was asked to approve without information beforehand, longstanding town policies left unenforced, repeated delinquencies on payments and invoices, and public assets made available for private use without proper protections.

Tom Abinanti, who calls Saracino an independent voice focused on the town rather than party politics, announced he will ask the New York State Comptroller's office to launch a formal audit of Mount Pleasant.