An unexpected $1.6 million in temporary state aid will make Jamestown’s 2027 budget a lot easier on both the City Council and on city taxpayers.

Gov. Kathy Hochul 2027 Executive Budget extends for one year the $50 million temporary program for cities, towns and villages. This program, which was initially authorized in 2025 for two years, provides general purpose aid for local governments. The funding comes at a good time for Jamestown, which has exhausted its remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to whittle down tax increases the past two years. Additional state aid will, for a year, replace some of the one-shot revenues that have been included in the budget over the past few years.

Hochul’s additional aid allows city officials to breathe easier for a year, but the sigh of relief will be short-lived. Come 2028, the city will have to find $1.6 million in new revenue or cost cuts to balance the budget.

There have been years where such aid for Jamestown was the exception to the rule. But the fact that Hochul is spreading $50 million to so many cities is a sign that Jamestown is far from alone in struggling to pay for services without exorbitant tax increases. State programs often help with projects that local governments can’t afford or partnerships with local agencies that the local agencies wouldn’t be able to do without the state’s help. But the need for an extension of the Temporary Municipal Assistance program is a sign Hochul realizes cities need more help than the state has given in the past.

It’s no surprise that Hochul is up for election in 2026. Last year, Hochul sent taxpayers a check. This year, the governor is increasing state aid to struggling cities to forestall major tax increases when local budgets are proposed right around the time Hochul is asking for your vote.

The issues Hochul recognizes in 2026 and 2027 won’t miraculously resolve themselves in 2028. If things don’t improve between now and 2028 we wonder if additional levels of state aid will become a new normal out of necessity.