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Resident urges Jamestown council to reinstate citizen strategic planning commission
Summary
A Jamestown resident urged council members to restore or create a citizen strategic planning commission and to increase public engagement in the city budget process, citing the charter’s requirements.
A resident urged the Jamestown City Council on April 28 to reinstate or create a citizen strategic planning commission and to increase public involvement in city budget priorities.
The speaker identified himself as Chuck of 225 Golden Street, Jamestown. Chuck thanked council members for recent contract work on the police department and said public safety deserved the city’s investment. He said the city charter requires an annual strategic‑planning process involving the council and a strategic planning and partnership commission, and argued the commission either be convened or the charter language be changed if the city cannot staff or populate it.
Chuck requested that the council provide formal opportunities for citizen input on budget priorities and the capital improvement program, contending that the planning commission should have a role in capital‑improvement planning and that, as currently practiced, citizens lack sufficient input. He noted that the city used a one‑time American Rescue Plan allocation the prior year to balance the budget and asked where similar funds would come from this year.
He told the council he would not return to public hearings until the fall budget process but urged the council to integrate a citizens’ body into strategic planning to improve engagement and transparency.
