The Department of Public Works is looking for approval from the City Council to make some changes to two sections of the city code.

On tonight’s agenda for the City Council work session are code changes looking to be approved in both Streets and Sidewalks – Restoration of Street Surface and Licenses and Permits – Schedule of Fees.

In the schedule of fees section, the Department of Public Works is looking to add a permit fee of $25 for a patching permit. According to the agenda, a patching parking lot permit may be obtained for surface treatment work in a parking lot where the aggregate area of all proposed patching work is less than 1,000 square feet. All contractors must submit a parking lot site plan prior to receiving a Right-of-Way permit from the City of Jamestown Department of Public Works. Site plans must include type of surface treatment, dimensions of existing lot, dimensions of surface treatments, and existing and proposed drainage. All parking lot surface treatments, and drainage requires a permit and is subject to site plan review by the Director of Public Works.

In the temporary patch section a few different areas of language are looking to be changed, including adding in that the temporary patch shall be installed with an impervious cap; cold patch, blacktop, concrete, etc. The contractor is responsible for maintenance on the temporary patch until a final repair can be made. The temporary patch shall be installed within 60 days of the New York State Dig Ticket start date. If the temporary patch is not installed within these 60 days the City of Jamestown DPW will complete the repair, and the Right-of-Way permit holder will be charged for those repairs. The Right-of-Way permit holder will also be charged a $250 fine for the first occurrence, $500 for the 2nd occurrence, and $500 for each subsequent infraction within one calendar year.

Other language is also looking to be added or changed in the Restoration of Street Surfaces section, including sections on temporary patching and permanent repair. The agenda notes that any additional revenue will support continued oversight and administration of work within the City’s Right-of-Way.

Also on the agenda for tonight, the city is preparing to already put a local law into effect for next year’s budget allowing for a tax cap override. The agenda notes that the city’s 2027 budget will require an excess of the two percent increase and that “the City is currently at 85.14% of its Constitutional Tax Limit per the Office of the State Comptroller for 2026.” Even if the City Council does not pass the Mayor’s budget as proposed, any tax increase in excess of two percent will require local legislation for such, otherwise that increase shall be illegal.

The council’s work session begins at 7:30 p.m. in the police training room on the fourth floor of city hall. Council committees meet before the work session. The Housing Committee meets at 6:30 p.m. in the police training room with the Finance Committee at 7 p.m. in the mayor’s fourth floor conference room, the Public Safety Committee in the police training room at 7 p.m. and the Public Works Committee in the Development Department conference room at 7 p.m.