Jamestown’s yearly lifeline from New York state has come to an end. Can Jamestown swim on its own, or will the state have to come in and save the day again in a few years?

We won’t know the answer to that question for a few years. Jamestown’s $28.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding means it has the wherewithal to handle the loss of the state’s $1 million in additional state aid for a while.

But by the time the federal money is exhausted, the city has to be in a position to make it on its own. There is no guarantee the state will come in with extra money every year, particularly the way the state is spending money these days.

That means the city must take care not to take on too much in terms of additional employee salary and benefits and not to create programs that don’t pay for themselves in the long term. The city’s budget looks good now, but let’s not forget how that picture turned from a kindergarten student’s fingerpainting into a Van Gogh. Without the state’s $5 million in excess aid and $28.3 million from the federal government, Jamestown would be in dire straits.

Winning the lottery doesn’t mean the city’s financial problems are over. Fiscal prudence is even better policy when you’re flush with cash than it is when you’re broke.

City officials would do well to remember that.