The real lesson from this budget process — and this entire year, really — is that the longtime dynamic in the city of a strong mayor and a quieter City Council doesn’t work right now.

Mayor Edward Sundquist is full of ideas, but this budget is a lesson in walking before one tries to compete in an Olympic-level sprint. Proposing a major shift on retiree health care without an attempt at collective bargaining with the union or discussing the issue with the City Council, and then making major last-minute changes to the policy in the midst, are all signs of moving too quickly in an area fraught with complications. Proposing a major change in downtown parking without talking to downtown business owners is a sign of moving too quickly.

Sundquist is brimming with ideas, and many of those ideas have merit. Fresh ideas are never a bad thing, especially in a city that changes at a snail’s pace. In our view, an experienced council is blessed with Sundquist’s ideas and fresh look at old problems. But there is a flip side to that coin. Sundquist is blessed with a City Council that has decades of accumulated experience when it comes to budgets and dealing with the major players in the city. They surely could have anticipated the reaction Sundquist’s retiree health care proposal and downtown parking changes generated had they been asked.

Both Sundquist and the council must find a way to utilize their respective strengths for the betterment of the community, because the 2021 budget is only the start of a heavy lift for city government. A concerning aspect of the budget as amended is the use of $500,000 from the city’s surplus to balance the spending plan. It likely couldn’t be avoided this year, but using the fund balance means the 2022 budget starts with a $500,000 gap that will have to be plugged. Downtown parking will need to be worked on in collaboration with businesses and downtown attractors. As we opined last week, employee health care must be bargained, because lowering health care costs is an important issue for the city moving forward and an equally important issue for city retirees who retired with the understanding they would have access to the health care plan they prefer. And, of course, there is the task of finding the type of major savings that place Jamestown on a stronger financial footing for decades to come, changes to housing policy and finding ways to restore vitality downtown as city rebounds from this year’s COVID-19-induced slumber.

In other words, both Sundquist’s strengths and those of the City Council are needed. How those differing strengths mesh will determine how successful the city is in the coming year.