The Jamestown City Council has officially approved the 2026 General Fund Budget after a few amendments have brought the tax levy increase down to around 5.5%.

During Monday’s voting session amendments were made to the budget, beginning first with a decrease to the health insurance section of the budget.

“I’d like to make an amendment that this will result in a reduction of 60% on savings, lower the fund balance used and 40% will go towards lowering the tax rate,” Councilman Brent Sheldon, R-Ward 1 and chair of the finance committee said.

The sales tax amount in the 2026 budget was also increased and the police and fire retirement budget was decreased. The same amendment to each that was made by Sheldon also applied to both of these changes. The police department’s budget was also amended to decrease one line item.

Following the approval of all amendments to the budget the 2026 General Fund Budget was approved by city council. Council President Tony Dolce, R-Ward 2, noted that with the amendments the tax levy increase will decrease from the original proposed 7.5% to around 5.5%.

“What we have done in effect is taken some of the cost savings that were found after the budget was proposed and allocated 60% of it back to the original allocation that was taken from the fund balance and then 40% was then allocated to the tax increase so that in effect lowered the tax increase that has been proposed,” Dolce said. “Again, these are not easy decisions to make. We don’t have crystal balls to know if these are decisions that are going to work in the future. Anytime we have to take money from the fund balance it’s not good. We’ve had fund balances that were certainly higher and balances that were a lot lower, so we try our best to balance the needs of the city moving forward the next several years.”

Dolce said that the tax rate obviously has a big effect on city residents and the council also works to balance the city needs while giving tax relief back to residents, while also being mindful that there will continue to be difficult budgets moving forward into 2027 and 2028.

“So we will roll up our sleeves as we get into 2026 and get to work on next year’s spending plan for 2027,” Dolce said.