The Jamestown City Council during its meeting on Aug. 28, 2018
JAMESTOWN – It will be a busy night at city hall for the Jamestown City Council Monday as members continue to review the 2019 budget while also attending their monthly voting session.
BUDGET HEARINGS CONTINUE
Budget hearings for the city council begin at 6:30 p.m. in the mayor’s conference room (fourth floor of city hall) with a review of next year’s proposed spending numbers for several city departments, including administrative services and the finance department.
Among the budget items the council may discuss tonight is a line item in the budget involving bringing on a new staff member to prepare for the retirement of current city Comptroller Joe Bellitto. Bellitto hasn’t publicly announced his planned retirement though it is mentioned in the city budget.
The council may also discuss the arbitration decision with the police union (Kendall Club) that was announced earlier this month. That decision said that the city would have to provide a retroactive 2 percent raise for city police for both the years 2016 and 2017 and the payment would be due before the end of this year. City officials have declined to comment on the matter until after it can be discussed in executive session with the city council. After reviewing current salaries for 59 members of the PBA, WRFA estimates the retroactive salary payment could cost the city anywhere between $350,000 and $500,000, with the salary adjustments also needing to be factored into next year’s spending plan as well. The city council is scheduled to publicly review and discuss the police and fire budgets for next year during its Nov. 5 meeting.
The council has until Dec. 1 to fully review and amend the $36 million executive budget presented earlier this month by Mayor Sam Teresi.
NEW TERMS FOR JAMESTOWN BREWING COMPANY LOAN
As for tonight’s voting session, the council will vote whether to revise the terms of the Jamestown Local Development Corporation loan awarded to the Jamestown Brewing Company. Under the revised terms of the $180,000 loan first approved in the spring of 2017, the brewery owners would have to make no payments for the first six months after disbursement and interest only payments for the first six months, along with extending the term repayment schedule from seven to 8 years. Because the JLDC loan is more than $100,000, the city council is also required to sign off on any changes to the terms of the loan.
The Council will also vote to accept $100,000 in state funding to demolish two downtown buildings located at 24 N. Main St. and 8 E. Second St.
The council will vote on four more change orders for the Tracy Plaza renovation project. The total cost increase of the change orders is $18,973.
Monday’s voting session begins at 7:30 p.m. in the city council chambers on the second floor of city hall. Both the 6:30 p.m. budget meeting and the 7:30 p.m. council voting session are open to the public.
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