Downtown Parking Meter Rates Proposed to Go Up

Council President Tony Dolce, City Comptroller John Sellstrom, and Information Technology Director Mark Dean at budget presentations to City Council (October 24, 2022)

The City of Jamestown is proposing to raise downtown parking meter rates 50-cents an half hour.

City Comptroller John Sellstrom told City Council that the on-street meters rates will go from 25-cents to 50-cents a half hour, for a total of $1 an hour. The parking revenue budgeted for 2023 is $245,000 versus $127,000 for 2022, a 31% increase.

Information Technology Director Mark Dean informed Council that his request for an IT Specialist was not funded in the Executive Budget. He said the $42,634 for the additional position is needed to handle cyber security needs and network hardware-software needs, “There’s a lot of activity, a lot of technical needs in the city hall. And what’s happening here is that many departments are kind of doing their own thing, taking it upon themselves to do IT. And that kind of leaves us out of the loop a little bit. And, so, when we’re asked sometimes about a certain piece of technology, we don’t know anything about it and we probably should have another person to help with that.”

Finance Chair and Council member at Large Kim Ecklund expressed concern over departments doing their own tech work when there are staff assigned to handle that already.

City Council also heard budget presentations from the City Clerk and Treasurer’s office, Corporation Counsel, and Assessor’s Office. Assessor Lisa Volpe did note that a city revaluation had been in her proposed budget for $685,000 but was not funded in the executive budget.

City Council will hear the next set of budget presentations by the Police and Fire Department at 6:30 p.m., Monday, November 7 before its work session that night.