Jamestown City Council voting session (April 24, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has approved the first salary increases in several decades for City Council members and the mayor.

The increases were based off recommendations made by the Jamestown Salary Review Commission in December 2022.

The local law approved changes the City Charter to raise Council members’ salaries from $5,000 to $7,000. The City Council President’s salary will rise from $6,000 to $8,000. The mayor’s salary will rise from $72,000 to $82,000.

City Council members’ salary haven’t increased since 1984 with the mayor’s salary remaining unchanged since 2008.

These salary increases do not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

Jamestown City Council

The Jamestown Salary Review Commission presented their recommendations for increases in December 2022.

The City Charter change calls to raise Council members’ salaries from $5,000 to $7,000. City Council President would receive $8,000. The mayor’s salary would raise from $72,000 to $82,000.

City Council members’ salaries haven’t increased since 1984 with the mayor’s salary remaining unchanged since 2008.

If approved, the salary increases would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

Council also will vote on hiring an Ombudsman to perform Human Resource duties in the Corporation Counsel’s office.

They also will vote on purchasing new finance and payroll software from Springbrook using $106,286 in American Rescue Plan funds.

A work session will be held at 7:00 p.m. with the voting session taking place at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall. The public is welcome to attend with the voting session being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown City Council

The City of Jamestown received $1.8 million in Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program funds for the eight positions, but council members have raised concerns about having to lay off those positions once grant funds run out in three years.

Also on tonight’s voting agenda is a resolution to use $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the construction of Splash Pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks. Council also will vote on a total of $221,000 in requests using ARP funds to add a playground at Willard Park, a pickleball court at Roseland Park, repave basketball courts, and buy 18 new planters for downtown.

A proposal to stabilize the banks of the Chadakoin River in the south basin and between the Warner Dam and North Main Street bridge is up for Council approval.

The allocation of $327,925 in ARP to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy had been approved by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation, but as the request is over the $100,000 threshold, it requires Council approval. Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District would be contracted to do the work.

Council also will review a local law to increase the mayor’s salary to $82,000 and increase city council member’s salaries to $7,000 with council president receiving an additional $1,000.

A second law pertaining to increasing elected officials’ salaries has also been filed per the request of Council Member Bill Reynolds that includes the original recommendation from the Jamestown Salary Review Commission. This local law would increase City Council members’ salaries from $5,000 to $7,500 while increasing the Council President’s salary from $6,000 to $9,000. It also recommends increasing the Mayor’s salary from $72,000 to $82,000.

Both local laws will be tabled for 30 days and be voted on at the April voting session. If approved, the salary increases would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

A school bus stop arm camera program contract with BusPatrol and a contract with Bird Bike to bring an ebike and escooter program to Jamestown are also up for consideration.

A work session will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the fourth floor Police Training room with the voting session starting at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall. Both are open to the public with the voting session being livestreamed at jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown City Council

Five of the positions will fill current and anticipated vacancies in the Jamestown Fire Department. Funding is included in the 2023 City Budget for these positions. The other eight positions also will fill vacancies and are being funded through the 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program.

Council also will review a proposal to replace the Assistant Corporation Counsel position with hiring an Ombudsman. Ben Haskins, who is the current Assistant, is leaving City Government for a different job.

A resolution to use $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the construction of Splash Pads at Allen and Jackson-Taylor Parks is now officially on the agenda. Council had heard a presentation on proposed projects earlier this month.

Council also will review a local law to increase the mayor’s salary to $82,000 and increase city council member’s salaries to $7,000 with council president receiving an additional $1,000. These salary increases were recommended by the Jamestown Salary Review Commission and, if approved, would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

They also will review an amendment to the Jamestown City Code to change the number of appointments to the Human Rights Commission from 12 to 9 members.

Council will review a American Rescue Plan allocation of $327,925 to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation for Chadakoin River bank stabilization work. As the request is over the $100,000 threshold, it requires Council approval.

Council also will review a resolution to accept a $50,000 from the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth for a one year tourism and marketing campaign.

The Housing Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight and their agenda includes continuing a discussion on lead issues. The Finance Committee, which meets at 7:00 p.m., will hear a report on a National League of Cities grant.

Other committee meetings will start at 7:00 p.m. with the full work session taking place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. All meetings are open to the public with the full work session being livestreamed at jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown City Council work session (January 23, 2023)

Jamestown City Council is proposing to increase both Council and the Mayor’s salaries with some caveats following recommendations by the Jamestown Salary Review Commission.

Finance Chair Kim Ecklund said the consensus from Council members is to raise the City Council member’s salary to $7,000; the Council President’s salary to $8,000; and the Mayor’s salary to $82,000.

The current salaries are $5,000 for Council members, $6,000 for Council President, and $72,000 for the Mayor.

Council Member at Large Jeff Russell proposed adding language to the local law that states the Mayor’s position is a full-time job, “Meaning, he or she that holds the office going forward should forgo any other paying employment or engagements unless City Council grants approval on a case by case basis, by request from the City Council.”

Russell said when employed by the Jamestown Police Department, he had to make a written request to the Police Chief to get approval if he wanted to take on secondary employment.

Council member Marie Carrubba agreed with the proposal, saying the practice is common for a lot of non-profits where the executive director needs permission from the board for outside employment, “Because again, as you state, they consider it a full-time job and that they want all your attention focused on that job and that job alone. It also eliminates conflicts of interest with outside employment for any number of reasons. I would support that. I tend to agree. I think as government and problems become more complicated, it really requires full time and attention.”

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the proposed change would require a Charter change. The current Charter simply says the Mayor’s position is full-time with no language about outside employment.

Currently, in addition to being Mayor, Sundquist is a Court Examiner for the County, still maintains a practice at Raimondo & Sundquist LLP; and according to the Jamestown Post-Journal, is an adjunct professor at St. Bonaventure University. Sundquist announced earlier this month he is running for re-election this November.

If approved, the salary increases would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

Jamestown City Council

The staff report said there has been nine water main breaks on Juliet Street between Camp and Hunter Streets since 1973. It stated that the brick street is also uneven in many places. On Roland Road between Camp and English Streets, there has been 20 water main breaks since 1977 with the blacktop pavement needing repair in many places.

The two streets are among 14 streets to be upgraded in a $5 million Clean Water grant received by the Board of Public Utilities in 2019, but the total cost of the project has now risen to $7.5 to $8 million. The staff report said the Department of Public Works and BPU are requesting the additional funding to replace the water mains and perform basic street restoration work.

The Finance Committee will discuss the Salary Review Commission recommendations that were made at the December 14 work session.

The recommendations include raising the Mayor’s salary from $72,000 to between $80,000 to $90,000; increasing City Council members’ stipend from $5,000 to $7,500; and increasing the City Council President’s stipend from $6,000 to $9,000.

City Council’s stipend hasn’t changed since 1984 with the Mayor’s salary remaining the same since 2008. Any changes to salaries would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

City Council’s Housing Committee meets at 6:45 p.m. in the Police Training Room on the 4th Floor of City Hall with other committees meeting at 7:00 p.m. The full work session will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Police Training Room. All meetings are open to the public with the full work session being livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

Jamestown Salary Review Commission presents to City Council (December 12, 2022)

The Jamestown Salary Review Commission has recommended increasing City Council and the Mayor’s salaries.

Members of the commission presented their recommendations to City Council at its work session Monday night.

Commission President Tage Hall said they recognize wage increases are not popular but feel raises are long overdue, “We provided a range for both the Mayor’s salary and council’s salaries. And looking at it, compared to even our area, it’s underpaid. We all kind of came to that agreement that these positions are certainly underpaid. So, we took that seriously and we believe that the time is right. We’ve looked at cost of living adjustments. We think even the council’s salary hasn’t been increased since the mid ’80s.”

The recommendations including raising the Mayor’s salary from $72,000 to between $80,000 to $90,000; increasing City Council members’ stipend from $5,000 to $7,500; and increasing the City Council President’s stipend from $6,000 to $9,000.

City Council’s stipend hasn’t changed since 1984 with the Mayor’s salary remaining the same since 2008.

Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo, who also sat on the commission, said if salaries had stayed current with inflation, City Council members would be making $14,000 a year as well as having City Healthcare, “The Mayor would be at $101,000 if we kept up with inflation throughout all of these years. With that being said, I spoke with numerous city council members, on average, and I’d like to say more because many city council members told me more, on average city council members are working 40 hours per month at this, which amounts to $15 per hour with the raises we have proposed for this group.”

Council President Tony Dolce said Council will discuss and vote on the recommendations at its January meetings. If any of the recommendations are passed, the new salaries would not go into effect until January 2024.

City Council Finance Committee joined by other council members, Mayor Eddie Sundquist, and Deputy Comptroller Catie Maycock (December 5, 2022)

The shared grant position for the City of Jamestown and Jamestown Community College has brought in over $11 million in funds.

An update on grants was provided to the City Council Finance Committee on Monday night. Of the 38 grants that Grant Writer Paula Pichon had applied for on behalf of the City of Jamestown, 15 were awarded, 13 denied, and 10 were still pending. The total amount of funds awarded to the city were $3,011,000.

She also had 10 grants approved for Jamestown Community College and five denied. The total amount of funds awarded to JCC were $8,083,000.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said while speaking to Pichon, she said municipalities tend to have a lot more pending grants, “That are just based on different funding cycles. The community college grants tend to go a lot quicker and, so, we’ve been thankful. We did meet with the community college to go through and do a review for our grant writer and to talk about the partnership. And from all accounts, we both felt that the partnership has been very successful both to the city and community college.”

Also at its work session, council reviewed a resolution to use $21,400 from the contingency fund to replace Fire Station #4’s roof. Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund suggested that since the project was originally funded using $100,000 in American Rescue Plan funds back in June, that the additional funding needed should also come from the ARP funds for auditing purposes. Sundquist said the contingency funds could be used in this case with no issues in an audit, thus not depleting the ARP fund balance further.

Sundquist also shared that the City of Jamestown Salary Review Commission is expected to present their recommendations to City Council at the December 12 work session. The commission had until the end of the year to present any updates to the Mayor or City Council salaries.

Jamestown Salary Review Commission holds first meeting (October 18, 2022)

The Jamestown Salary Review Commission is looking at options for the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities to pay a stipend toward an increase in the Mayor’s salary.

The Commission held its first meeting Tuesday to discuss salaries for the Mayor and City Council. By City Charter, the advisory commission is required to meet every four years and present a recommendation for any adjustments to salaries to City Council. Council then can choose to accept or take no action. Any changes would not go into effect until January 1, 2024.

City Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo made a suggestion that the commission approach the Jamestown BPU about contributing to the mayor’s salary, “One of the suggestions we had is that the Mayor in his current role serves as Chairman of the BPU Board. The Commission, as a whole, would like to know how much time the Mayor is spending as the Chairman of the BPU Board and whether that time should be compensated by the BPU Board. So that is something we have to explore as a Commission.”

The mayor’s salary is $72,000 and hasn’t been increased since 2008. Council member salaries are $5,000 with the Council President receiving an additional $1,000 stipend. Those salaries haven’t been increased since 1984.

Commission member Pat Smeraldo asked how much salaries have increased for union contracts going back five years, now that all bargaining units are current. Raimondo replied that with looking back five year until now, it’s a 10-12% increase.

General consensus by members is that both the mayor and city council have had an increased workload, especially with social media making it easier to reach out to elected officials.

Tage Hall was selected as the Chair of the Commission. Their next meeting will be 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 15, 2022.

Jamestown City Council (September 26, 2022)

The Jamestown Salary Review Commission is ready to go after City Council approved the final appointments needed Monday night.

Council President Tony Dolce‘s appointments of Pat Smeraldo, Mike Laurin, and Taje Hall were approved to serve on the commission.

He said he wanted to choose people who were interested in serving and had some government background, “I know that some of the Mayor’s appointments are former department heads, so I was trying to put together a group that would understand the history and understand a little bit about the process so they’re not exactly starting from ground zero.”

Mayor Eddie Sundquist‘s appointments that were approved in August are former City Comptrollers Joe Bellitto and Ryan Thompson; as well as Heather Greenfield, who is the Financial Coordinator for the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency.

The City Charter requires that a Salary Review Commission is convened every four years to review the salaries of all elected officials.

Dolce said the commission would likely start meeting next month. He said they are required to present a recommendation to the City Council by the end of the year. City Council then votes on those recommendations.

Any salary changes would not go into effect until January 1, 2024. The Mayor’s current salary is $72,000 which hasn’t had an increase since 2008. City Council members receive a $5,000 salary with the Council President receiving an additional $1,000 stipend. Dolce said it has been 38 years since council’s salary has been adjusted.