Jamestown City Council voting session (May 22, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has unanimously voted to lift a hiring freeze to hire eight new firefighters.

The decision after two months of discussions drew applause from an audience mostly made up of members of the Jamestown Fire Department at Monday’s meeting.

The hiring is contingent on the Jamestown Professional Firefighters Association Local 137 agreeing to stipulations outlined in the resolution presented by Council Member Marie Carrubba.

Council President Tony Dolce said council members wanted some protections, including the union agreeing not to go back to impact in the event the city has to lay-off firefighters in three years, “Would they go back to impact, open an impact arbitration and go back to get more money? And that would be catastrophic for the city. So, we put in there.. and it was discussed back and forth about the fact on how they won’t seek to reopen the arbitration case for impact payments. It would just revert back to what it originally was under the 2002 Foster agreement. So that was one thing that we put in there. We also wanted some outside counsel to review the resolution.”

The resolution also states the union will waive its right to pursue litigation against the city should the city not be able to secure new funding for retention of the eight firefighters. Conversely, the resolution states the city will make a good faith effort to secure new funding to retain and continue the new positions.

The union will be required to ratify the tentative agreement, which will come back again to City Council for approval.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said “it’s much easier to say no, much harder to get to yes,” “And so I very much appreciate the city council, the fire union, our police and fire chiefs that have been working diligently to try to get to that end result. At the end of the day, what matters most is that we have a safer Jamestown. We’re going to be able to add eight new firefighters with no cost to our taxpayers and that’s truly an incredible thing.”

The City of Jamestown was awarded in February a three-year $1.8 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to do the hiring.

Based on financial projections provided by former City Comptroller Joe Bellitto, the total cost to the city is between $2.2 and $2.6 million, leaving at least $400,000 that the city has to make up.

Council member at large Jeff Russell pointed out that this figure does not include any overtime costs, “Now, we know that’s not realistic. So those numbers are actually going to be larger cause you know they’re going to be called in on off shifts and callbacks and everything else, so that’s been the question all along. How do we pay for this? Numbers are unknown.”

Council members have requested that any revenue received from the two ambulances that are being staffed by firefighters be dedicated to funding the Jamestown Fire Department. Mayor Sundquist has said the city received $300,000 in revenue through billing in 2022 for use of the first ambulance.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said the hiring process will now begin immediately, with new recruits going through training at the Fire Academy in Montour Falls. He said he expects that the new hires should be on staff by Thanksgiving.

Jamestown City Council discusses resolution to hire eight fire fighters (April 24, 2023)

Jamestown City Council once again tabled a resolution to hire eight new firefighters at its voting session.

Council member at large Jeff Russell made the motion, citing extenuating circumstances, following a lengthy discussion before a packed council chambers that included most of the members of the Jamestown Fire Department.

Council member at large Kim Ecklund cited financial concerns with the three-year $1.8 million SAFER grant, saying that costs presented to council for those three years is $2.1 million which didn’t include overtime costs, working out of title, and comp time.

She said in 2022, personnel expenses in the Fire Department were $250,000 over budget, “Talking financially, this grant will not provide all those previously mentioned items I just talked about as well as training, estimated at $46,000, uniforms estimated at $46,000, and other incidental expenses. While people don’t want to hear this, we as a council have to remain fiscally responsible and understanding the needs of our departments and empathetic to the future of Jamestown.”

Ecklund said based on these numbers, the city could be faced with a $450 to $500,000 total shortfall over the three years of the grant. She said the American Rescue Plan funds used to hire four firefighters in 2022 runs out the the last year of the SAFER grant, which leaves another $382,000 for the city to fund.

Crowd for the Jamestown City Council meeting (April 24, 2023)

Ecklund said a second ambulance would bring in more revenue but running the two ambulances would not bring in the $750 to $900,000 needed. Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon had informed Council previously that the estimated revenue from running two ambulances is about $400,000 total a year.

Council member Marie Carrubba commented that former City Comptrollers Joe Bellitto and Ryan Thompson had both previously stated that the hiring of the four ARPA funded firefighters would “stretch the city’s budget to its limit,” “The idea that we’d hire an additional eight would be unsustainable and we have to look at that. And I don’t always agree with Mr. Champ, but I think you said it very well tonight. We have to be concerned not only with the present, but the future and the financial condition of the city when we are reaching our constitutional taxing limit, when we’re not able to raise taxes, my question to all of the citizens are what do you want us to cut?”

Ecklund asked Mayor Eddie Sundquist if the SAFER grant would allow the city to hire less than the eight firefighters proposed.

Sundquist responded that if Council provides him a number, he can ask the Federal Emergency Management Agency about that. None of the previous discussions by the city administration until Monday’s voting session indicated that the grant allowed the city to hire less than eight fire fighters under the grant.

The motion to table the resolution until May passed with just Council member Regina Brackman voting no.

In a related resolution, Council did approve purchasing a second ambulance for the fire department with $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funds.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon addresses Jamestown City Council (April 10, 2023)

Jamestown City Council will vote tonight on whether to hire eight new firefighters.

The positions would be partially funded through a three-year $1.8 million SAFER grant. Council learned at its last work session that the estimated costs of the salaries and the city’s contributions to social security, state retirement, health insurance, worker’s compensation, and a one time purchase of turn-out gear comes out to $2,119,678 over a three year period. That equates to a total of $319,678 the city would have to cover over that three-year period.

City Council members have said their main concern is that they’d be faced with laying off the eight firefighter positions should the city not qualify for another round of federal funding in three years.

In a related resolution, Council also will vote on purchasing a second ambulance for the fire department with $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funds.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon told Council that the estimated revenue from running two ambulances is about $400,000 total a year.

Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund goes over fire fighter hiring financials (April 17, 2023)

Jamestown City Council members voice concern over costs and future layoffs on the issue of whether to hire eight new firefighters.

Council was provided by former City Comptroller Joe Bellitto the estimated costs to the city for hiring the firefighters as well as the estimates of costs once a three-year federal SAFER grant ends.

While the grant is $1.8 million, the estimated costs of the salaries and the city’s contributions to social security, state retirement, health insurance, worker’s compensation, and a one time purchase of turn-out gear comes out to $2,119,678 over a three year period. That equates to $319,678 the city would have to cover.

Council member at large Jeff Russell noted those estimates only covered the annual base salary, “These numbers do not include any overtime at all. They do not include comp time sell back, or any kind of impact pay, or other form of compensation from what I’m seeing. So, these are assuming that these firefighters do not work a single hour of overtime in 36 months, which is unrealistic. There’s going to be overtime involved.”

Russell said, should the city not receive the SAFER grant again after it ends in mid-2026, the costs to the city over the next three years would be $2,428,453, “We all know that our budget cannot increase by $2,428,000, which means, ultimately, if we apply for this grant three years from now and we don’t get this grant and we don’t get this grant money, we’re going to be laying off at least eight firefighters.”

Council members asked Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon if a proposed second ambulance could still be staffed if the additional eight firefighters were not hired. He responded that the four American Rescue Plan funded firefighters hired in July 2022 could staff that vehicle.

Coon said the estimated revenue from running two ambulances is about $400,000 total a year.

Council member at large Kim Ecklund said of the list of potential retirements in the fire department, that there were only eight employees she saw who may actually retire by 2026, which raised her concern that once the grant and ARPA funding runs out, there may be more than just the eight firefighters who would have to be laid off.

Council President Tony Dolce said while the city has an obligation to public safety, council also has a fiduciary responsibility, “So that’s why we’re sitting around the table, looking at numbers, and scratching our heads. And we want to provide service and we want to do this, but we also want to look at can we afford it and how long can we afford it for? What happens when this runs out and we can’t, we or whoever is at the table, can’t do this anymore? Then what happens?”

Dolce requested Council members continue looking at the numbers and talking to those in City Administration about questions they have. It is anticipated that Council will vote on this resolution at the voting session scheduled for Monday, April 24.

Jamestown City Council

The resolution would purchase Springbrook Software using $63,986.50 of American Rescue Plan funds to replace the KVS accounting system that’s been in use by the city since the early 2000s. The annual cost for the new software is $42,300.

Council held off on approving the purchase of this same software in October 2022 after learning it hadn’t been reviewed by the city’s IT department. Council member Marie Carrubba also requested that council be provided a reference list of other municipalities who use the software in New York State.

The resolution for the purchase at that time requested $91,683 in American Rescue Plan with annual maintenance costs being listed as $19,405. According to Council member at Large Kim Ecklund‘s comments at the meeting, the current KVS system’s annual maintenance costs are in the $17,000 range.

The staff report for the current resolution said the software was chosen after a Request-for-Proposal (RFP) process, adding that the Comptroller, City Clerk, and IT department performed various demonstrations to confirm functionality. The software has new features, including online portals for each employee to see payroll and tax data.

Council will resume discussions on the resolution to hire eight firefighters. Council members have been requesting additional information on the financial impact of the hirings, including how the administration proposes continuing to fund the positions once the three-year SAFER grant from the federal government runs out.

City officials have said that the purchase of a second ambulance will help bring in revenue that will help bridge that gap. Council members also requested a cost versus revenue comparison for the current ambulance owned by the city in addition to estimates on the amount of revenue that might be brought in by the second ambulance. A resolution to use $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to purchase that second ambulance appeared on Council’s agenda on April 10.

The operation of that vehicle depends on the additional hiring of firefighters.

Discussions on hiring an ombudsman will continue tonight, presuming the administration provides council with the salary schedule and cost-out requested by the City Council Finance Committee.

The position would replace the Associate Corporation Counsel position that’s now vacant in the Corporation Counsel’s office.

The City Council work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. There are no committee meetings due to lack of agenda items. The public is welcome to attend with the meeting being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon addresses Jamestown City Council (April 10, 2023)

Jamestown City Council heard more details at its work session about a proposed purchase of a second ambulance for the Jamestown Fire Department.

A resolution proposes using $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the purchase.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said the number of mutual aid calls has been rising steadily since 2019, with 324 calls that year, 342 calls in 2020, 419 calls in 2021, and 468 calls in 2022, “I have little reason to believe that number would be under 500 this year. Our call out continues to increase. Again, these are all calls Jamestown Fire does respond to but we have to use mutual aid for that transport vehicle.”

After the question of the life expectancy of the vehicle was raised, Coon said ambulances generally last in the 10 to 15 year range.

The Fire Department’s current ambulance is a 2013 model. Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the city received $300,000 in revenue through billing in 2022 for use of the first ambulance.

Coon said he’d have to get Council estimates on what could be gained through billing for a second ambulance.

Council member Marie Carrubba asked specifically what expenses were involved with running the ambulance and how that compared with the revenue brought in.

Council members had requested additional information from the administration before the voting session in March about how the purchase of the second ambulance could help bring in revenue to support the proposed hiring of eight firefighters after the three-year $1.8 million federal grant funding those positions ran out.

Sundquist said that information will be made available at the April 17 work session. He cited the issue that former Comptroller Joe Bellitto is only assisting the city on a contractual basis and isn’t full time while the city continues to look for a full-time Comptroller.

Jamestown City Council

The positions would be funded by a three-year $1.8 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant.

City Council members have expressed concern that they’d be faced with having to lay-off the firefighters if the grant money is not renewed.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said while he understands that concern, this is an opportunity to make Jamestown safer, “As of right now, we close a fire station every shift. We still don’t have enough to run ambulances right now in the city. So, when you talk about being able to add on new fire fighters that are fully funded for three years by the Federal government – we’re talking salaries, benefits, all of those things – it’s a really unique opportunity for the city.”

Sundquist said by hiring the eight positions, there would be enough to operate a second ambulance.

City Council is expected to review a resolution to use $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to purchase that ambulance for the Fire Department.

Sundquist said the city generated $300,000 from billing insurance in 2022 with running the first ambulance, “Now, I don’t think you’re going to double it when you add a second ambulance, but I think you’re going to get close to that and certainly add more revenue which will make up for the cost of adding new firefighters.”

Council also will review a resolution to purchase splash pads from Aquatix by Landscape Structures, Inc. for $135,000. That funding, using American Rescue Plan monies, was approved at the March voting session.

The discussion of hiring an Ombudsman in the Office of the Corporation Counsel is on the agenda again. This position is proposed to replace the Associate Corporation Counsel position, which is being vacated by Ben Haskin.

Council also will review an proposed amendment to the City Code regarding the Director of Public works position. The proposed amendment would eliminate the requirement that the DPW Director have a professional civil engineer certificate. According to the staff report, most of the people who have applied for the position have applicable experience, but do not maintain or have a professional engineer license. The City has had difficulty finding candidates to replace former DPW Director Jeff Lehman, who retired March 31 after serving in the position for 29 years. The DPW Director position is being filled on an interim basis by DPW Project Engineer Mark Roetzer.

Council will hear a presentation by New York State Climate Smart Communities Coordinator Sarah Swinko. This presentation will precede the review of a resolution for the City to adopt the New York State Climate Smart Communities pledge.

According to the staff report, Climate Smart Communities (CSC) is a New York State program that helps local governments take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate. The program offers grants, rebates for electric vehicles, and free technical assistance. In order to take part in the program, a municipality must pass a resolution to become a Registered Climate Smart Community.

The Housing Committee also will have a discussion on homeless shelters. That committee will meet at 6:45 p.m. with the other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m.

The full council work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. The public is welcome to attend all meetings with the work session being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.