Two decades of crunching numbers, trying to accurately forecast revenues and expenditures, and dealing with numerous fiscal challenges is about to conclude for the mayor of Jamestown.

On Tuesday, Sam Teresi, Jamestown mayor, will be releasing his 20th and final executive budget as the elected leader of the city. As he continues working on his final budget with city staff, Teresi said he takes the responsibility of preparing the 2020 budget as seriously as the previous 19 — even though he won’t be involved in the day-to-day administration of the spending plan next year.

“I’m very mindful that every mayor’s first year, including mine, your administering numbers put together by a different mayor and other folks, and you relate back to that time and make sure whoever your successor is will be given the best possible platform for continued success,” he said. “Even though we won’t be here next year day-to-day, we are taking the process as if we will be here.”

Teresi said the three primary architects of the budget, Joseph Bellitto, city comptroller; Jim Olson, city clerk/financial services director; and himself are all preparing their last budget.

“We’ve spent our whole careers trying to help and improve the community. We want only good things going forward,” Teresi said.

As for the 2020 spending plan, Teresi said city officials again have been advised by state budget office officials that they can be “reasonably assured” an additional $1 million in state aid will be provided to the city. If the additional funding is included in the state spending plan, this would be the fourth year the city received the extra state aid.

“(In discussions) we’ve had with the state budget office, they have indicated they are pleased with the day-to-day operations of city government and in the way we invest in ourselves. They recognize, with a lot of variables out there, that we’ve made good progress, but we’re not out of the woods yet. They have indicated a strong likelihood this will be the fourth year of the funding and we are including it in the budget.”

Teresi said, like many revenue and expenditure items in the city’s budget, there is no guarantee.

“It’s like any other variable that could make a budget be in an unbalanced state,” he said. “Whether the million doesn’t come through or sales tax revenues are off, any single item in the budget can make the budget out of balance.”

A factor that will impact the 2020 budget differently than the 2019 budget is that three of the six collective bargaining employee units — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 418 (AFSCME) and the two units of the Jamestown City Administrative Association (JCAA) –will be under contract next year. At the start of 2019, all six units, which also includes Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Kendall Club Police Benevolent Association; and Jamestown Professional Firefighters Association IAFF Local 137, were without a contract. However, in July, city officials reached a new contract agreement with the two units of the JCAA and last month reached an arrangement with AFSCME.

Teresi said it’s easier to prepare a budget knowing the salary and benefit numbers than having to project the potential figures if an agreement is reached during the budget year.

“We have three contracts now in the books and it makes our job a lot easier when we can calculate down to the dollar the salaries and benefits,” he said. “It’s harder when (union contracts) aren’t settled and you have to speculate what the settlement will be.”

However, Teresi said there will be no rush to reach contract agreements with the three bargaining units without a contract by the time the 2020 budget needs to be approved.

“You should never rush for a settlement,” he said. “That is when you get into trouble. Deal with what you can deal with and the numbers will be what they will be. Putting together a budget should never be the determining factor to come to contract agreement. You reach a contract agreement on merits. If you don’t have the (actual) numbers, you do the best forecasting you can.”

Teresi will present his budget to the public and the Jamestown City Council at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the mayor’s conference room on the fourth floor of the city Municipal Building, located at 200 E. Third St. Once the executive budget is presented to the council, the group will deliberate over the budget with department heads during several budget meetings. The council has a Dec. 1 to pass an on-time budget or the 2020 executive budget will be the fiscal plan next year.