The agenda for tonight’s Jamestown City Council agenda includes acceptance of a $146,795 grant to pay for several domestic violence initiatives in the city.

The money will include the salary for a victims’ services coordinator within Project Crossroads for a year, training to nurses who want to become certified medical forensic examiners, $30,000 for examinations and follow-up services for domestic violence victims, and $61,500 to purchase a vehicle to transport domestic violence victims. The city won’t have to contribute any money to participate in the program – this year.

But council members should ask themselves a question as they consider approving the federal grant. What happens if the victim services coordinator position proves itself to be a valuable position for victims of domestic violence? It’s the same question that was at the heart of the decision to accept federal funding to hire new firefighters as well as to use ARPA funding to hire additional police officers and firefighters. The city won’t have grant resources available forever to pay for these positions, and adding too much during good financial times makes cost-cutting even more difficult when budgets get tight.

That doesn’t mean the council shouldn’t accept the federal money. It does mean there needs to be some planning for future years. Is this a one-time grant? If not, what is the likelihood of receiving the grant in future years? If grant money isn’t available in the future, are there local means that aren’t tied to the city budget to keep a victim services coordinator employed if the position proves to be beneficial for domestic violence victims?

Our region needs to do more to help victims of domestic violence, and this $146,795 is a good start, in our view. But we also have to acknowledge that it does little good to have a position for a year and then cut it because we didn’t put in the time to make the victims’ services coordinator sustainable.