Jamestown Mayor Kim Ecklund presents proposed 2025 Executive Budget (October 8, 2024)
Past budgeting issues have led to a proposed 7.79% tax increase in the City of Jamestown’s 2025 budget.
Mayor Kim Ecklund, presenting her first budget as mayor since taking office in January, said problems in the 2024 budget led to issues for the 2025 budget, “EMS for the second ambulance was a budgeted item of revenue for the entire year, but as of today the ambulance is still not in service. A failure to file the $100,000 grant application with Assemblyman Goodell for the installation of the Splash Pads led to an additional expense and budget shortfall. Again, that was done by the prior administration.”
Ecklund said improper contracting and process for the installation of a new cell tower on city property led to an increase in litigation costs and a delay in that project.
She also cited unanticipated and unfunded unemployment costs from the end of a grant-funded position that wasn’t budgeted. Ecklund said an arbitration ruling regarding the Juneteenth holiday resulted in $60,000 in unbudgeted costs, “Additional expenses and bonds for the Fleet Maintenance Building have created a long-term debt obligation with an estimated $3 million shortfall compared to the previous mayor’s projections. The absence of a Comptroller led to a significant increase in auditor time and expenses, delaying and increasing expenses for the 2022 audit which was completed in the beginning of 2024. Multiple oversights, omissions, and miscalculations in department budgets lines further contributed to the budget discrepancies.”
Further issues with the 2024 budget include a $500,000 shortfall in sales tax and EMS revenues, Financial Restructuring Board revenues were underestimated leading to a $700,000 shortfall; an application for the extension of $1.3 million in FRB revenues was not submitted; health and dental expenses were underestimated by $300,000; Retiree Medicare premiums were omitted from the budget causing a $900,000 shortfall; and employee health benefit contributions were not increased based on recommended provider premium increases for the past three years.
Ecklund said she knows people will want to blame City Council for not catching these issues in the 2024 budget, but she said the only line Council members would have known to adjust was sales tax, “But, if many of you recall last year in December, there was a $2.2 million projected shortfall in this (2024) budget and Council decided to take the risk and leave that alone. The retirement costs, the healthcare costs, all those things are provided by the Comptroller based on information received. That was neglected to be done properly last year.”
READ: Proposed 2025 City of Jamestown Budget
The $43,315,323 spending plan increases appropriations by $2.82 million. Ecklund said legal challenges to commercial property tax assessments have resulted in the loss of tax revenues, with one example being the loss of $800,000 in assessment on the North Main Street Rite Aid property. That said, property tax revenues are expected to increase 7.6% for 2025 for an additional $1.23 million.
Other budget obstacles for 2025 include retirement costs increasing by $580,000; healthcare costs increasing $827,000; Retiree Medicare Advantage costs of $918,000, escalating stop-loss claims, and union contracts for Police, Fire, and CSEA that will be up for renewal at the beginning of 2025.
Ecklund said $700,000 is being used from the General Fund, leaving an unassigned fund balance total of $5,065,228 for 2025.
Sales tax revenues are not expected to meet the 2024 budgeted goal of $8.9 million, and, instead, is estimated to come in at $8.4 million. The 2025 budget only increases the sales tax line to $8.6 million, or about a 2.6% increase from total anticipated revenues for 2024.
The city is anticipating a one-time increase in state aid of $530,940 for the 2024 budget, but will not see that funding in 2025.
Ecklund said the only capital projects included in the executive budget will be Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement (CHIPS) Program funded roadwork.
The proposed 2025 budget calls for $17.36 million to be raised through real property taxes, which represents an increase from 2024 of $1.23 million or 7.63%
Because the requested tax increase is more than the 2% tax cap as allowed by New York State, Jamestown City Council will have to approve exceeding the tax cap. Ecklund said this needs to be done before Council votes on the budget and will, thus, need to be on the October voting agenda even if Council finds ways to cut the budget so that it doesn’t need to exceed the tax cap.
Well don’t know how you expect the few taxpayers left to keep coughing it up to cover all these Mistakes
We are all robbing Peter to pay Paul!
Most of us are seniors on fixed incomes that Doesn’t increase!
Too many good old boy under the table handshake deals over the years are costing us dearly
We just can’t afford it anymore
How many mistakes can a council and government make. It reeks of incompetence. What do you expect from a dying city full of wannabe leaders. All that will be left are the takers.
The sad thing is this incompetent behavior has gone on for a long time leaving us where we are now! Chickens coming home to roost.