Jamestown Mayor Kim Ecklund discusses 2024 budget shortfall with City Council (June 3, 2024)
The City of Jamestown could be facing a $2.9 million shortfall in the 2024 budget.
Mayor Kim Ecklund gave an update on the budget to City Council members at their work session Monday night, including that the administration is working on expenses they can control while battling expenses they cannot, “One of which you heard was the $150,000 increase in stop loss (insurance). As you all probably realize in your own homes, your insurances have skyrocketed, so unallocated insurance and property insurance are estimated to be another $150,000 increase each, not budgeted. We had an over-projection in revenue, I’m sure you’ve heard me mention this before, of roughly $400,000. $200,000 of that was in ambulance revenue. We haven’t even gotten the ambulance in yet.”
Deputy Fire Chief Matt Coon said they’re hoping to get delivery of the second ambulance by July.
Ecklund said her office is still pushing to get a reimbursement of $1 million from New York State for the Medicare program for retirees that was instituted in 2021, “We’ve talked about it.. trying to get the reimbursement that the last administration did not ask for. We’re still fighting hard for it, but that number includes almost $1 million alone of that reimbursement, or of that overage, in the budget. If we don’t get that, it’s a million, if we do get that, that’s great. We’re down to $1.9 instead of $2.9 (million shortfall), but we have to count as if we’re not going to get it.”
Ecklund said retirement costs for the Police and Fire Departments were understated in the budget by almost $500,000, “I’m not really sure why because the bills were clear. I know some of the members of this council asked the administration last time if they were accurate. They assured us they were. They were, in fact, not.”
Ecklund said other costs understated in this year’s budget include $200,000 in health insurance, $26,000 for going out to bond, and a contract settlement of between $130,000 to $140,000.
She said the city is working on decreasing that shortfall. Ecklund said the close out of 2023 is looking positive at this point, which may help fill some of the budget gaps.
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