It was no surprise to see Mayor Eddie Sundquist issue budget vetoes earlier this week.

The number of vetoes, however, was a bit surprising.

In our view, the City Council should override each and every one. Of particular interest are:

Veto 1: Veto of the council’s reduction in proposed pay increases for management positions. As has happened in past attempts to raise management wages in the city, commissions and now Sundquist are taking far too big a bite at one time. The position of city clerk and treasurer would see an increase of $11,960 a year while the city comptroller’s salary would increase by $9,000. Not many taxpayers are getting such large raises this year, and city management shouldn’t either.

Vetoes 5-6: Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency funding and City Hall maintenance. The city contracts with JURA for code enforcement and other economic development activities. But perhaps, if the $10,000 the City Council cut from the city’s commitment to JURA and the $10,000 cut from the budget for City Hall maintenance are as big of an issue as Sundquist says it is, then the two sides can compromise by eliminating the management raises and keeping the JURA funding and City Hall maintenance. At least that way the city is cutting its use of the city’s fund balance by $20,000.

Veto 2: Human Rights Commission Contractual Services. It is important to remember no other city board or commission receives money as a line item in the city budget. While the amount is small ($6,000), the precedent it would set is not. There is a mechanism for diversity-related events to apply for money both from local foundations as well as to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation once the event’s particulars have been sorted out. That is the appropriate way to fund the commission’s activities, not the city budget.

The bigger issue here is the council’s realization that the city must do what it can to keep recurring costs down because the federal stimulus money won’t be in the city’s bank account forever. Decisions made today have consequences far into the future — and it’s better to be cautious with the city’s money so that future mayors and City Councils aren’t hamstrung by decisions made today.