There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, or AIM, money Jamestown normally gets from the state of New York.
''Normally'' is the operative word - Gov. David Paterson has threatened to withhold Dec. 15 AIM payments to municipalities across the state. It is unknown whether or not Jamestown will be one of them.
That's according to Joe Bellitto, the city's comptroller, who said Monday night an e-mail to the state's budget office provided no information.
''It's one thing I'm concerned about and I know it's on everybody's mind,'' Bellitto told the City Council's Finance Committee Monday night. ''The governor apparently feels the state Legislature didn't do the job it should have and he's threatening to withhold AIM payments on Dec. 15. I e-mailed the state budget office and asked just how much of our upcoming $4.5 million payment would be withheld, but they had no answers for me.''
Jamestown depends heavily on its AIM payments; at $4.96 million, AIM money represents Jamestown's third-biggest source of revenue behind property and sales tax revenue. The city gets two payments each year, with the Dec. 15 payment being the largest.
That money is vital to the city. Bellitto said when the city gets its check, it ''turns right around'' and wires ''a good portion'' of that money back to Albany to cover the city's retirement system contribution. But Bellitto said he had no word on whether, if Paterson makes good on his threat, the state would ''ease off'' on the interest penalty cities would incur by making late payments.
''If our retirement payment were to be late, it would be the state's fault,'' Bellitto said. ''But I don't have any answers on that.''
The City Council has already grappled with AIM money this year. Reacting to news that the legislature was likely to make a 10 percent cut to AIM for cities whose fiscal years matched the calendar year, the council decided - after lengthy and sometimes heated discussion - to cut more than $496,000 from the city's revenue budget.
Paterson is struggling with problems of his own. The state's budget shortfall is in the billions - estimates put it between $2.5 and $7 billion - and though the state Legislature passed a deficit reduction plan that will save $2.7 billion this year alone, Paterson said last week he will ''move forward and implement the tough choices (the state Legislature was) unwilling to make.''
Part of the state Legislature's deficit reduction package was a measure that will cut AIM payments for cities whose fiscal years do not follow the calendar year by between 1 and 8 percent based on the city's overall reliance on that aid. New York City, for example, took an 8 percent cut in AIM, while most other cities had to endure between a 1 and 3 percent cut.
''Using the criteria that was applied to non-calendar year cities, we would endure a 1 percent cut in our funding,'' Bellitto said. ''But I don't know if that's what will actually happen. There's a lot that could change between now and then. There are so many unknowns and so many variables that it's hard to predict.''