Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Common Council is calling for action when it comes to planning and preparation for snow storms in the City of Buffalo, especially in light of the blizzard that struck the region this past Christmas Weekend.
In a united effort to ensure the safety and well-being of Buffalo residents during the upcoming winter season, the Common Council on Tuesday urgently called for a "WAWA" (Where Are We At) comprehensive request for updates on emergency winter weather preparedness from Mayor Byron Brown, his administration, and several administrative commissioners.
The call for transparency and accountability comes in response to a letter jointly authored by Majority Leader David Rivera, and fellow Councilmembers Mitch Nowakowski, Bryan Bollman and Rasheed Wyatt, requesting vital information on various aspects of emergency services and snow preparedness.
"This is Buffalo. Snow can happen at any point in time. We need to know that we have a plan, and they need to know that leadership from this city has their best interests at heart and their safety," said Councilman Wyatt during Tuesday's meeting at City Hall. "We lost 46 people. We should not lose another life because of our unpreparedness."
Despite repeated requests for updates since the December blizzard, these inquiries have remained unanswered, leaving both the Council and concerned citizens in the dark regarding the city's preparedness for the winter season.
"I genuinely want to know where some of the resolutions, and some of the things that we're pushing and advocating for are at," said Councilman Bollman. "We want to hear from the Public Works department. This is not finger-pointing. We need to know about our Fleet Manager and Emergency Coordinator. It's bigger than the Snow Plan. This is overall emergency planning for the City of Buffalo."
"We did suffer last year from a blizzard, a severe storm. There were fatalities. We've discovered the city needs a lot in the ordinance of fleet, of capital equipment," added Councilman Nowakowski. "I know that I've put in a lot of requests for equipment. An emergency manager, yes, we understand those duties right now are with the Fire Commissioner, but we understand that looking at other municipalities, it's appropriate to have an emergency manager. This Council operated in good faith to get an emergency manager that was really our prerogative, and the deal was really for the mayor to have a fleet manager. All of a sudden, it seems to not be so important when in February, it was so important. And to come to committees at nauseam and to just talk and everything be a charade, I'm over it."
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Some of the key points of concern outlined in the Council's letter include:
- Equipment Investment: The Council seeks a comprehensive list of all snow and emergency-related equipment purchased since the December 2022 Blizzard, following Mayor Brown's emphasis on investing in new equipment to protect the community in future storms.
- Emergency Manager and Fleet Manager Roles: Clarification is sought on the current hiring status and reasons for delays in filling the roles of Emergency Manager and Fleet Manager, which were approved on February 7, 2023.
- Emergency Task Force: The Council wishes to learn how the members of the Emergency Task Force were chosen, if meetings have taken place, and when they will address the Council on their progress and initiatives.
- Snow Plan: Public Works Commissioner Nathan Marton is requested to provide an update on the progress of the Snow Plan, given its critical importance in preparing for winter weather events.
- WARMUP Act: Information is sought regarding whether the study mandated by the "WARMUP Act," which urged the Department of Public Works to explore using city-owned buildings as warming shelters, has been conducted and the findings.
"I want to make sure should a storm comes, we're able to utilize whatever resources we have at our fingertips," said Council Majority Leader Rivera. "Mutual aid with other municipalities, the state, the county. I want to make sure we're at the table and communicating in real time, and working with everyone to make sure we have every available asset, we have the manpower and the technology, there's no break down, and the equipment can get to where it needs to get to. So we're going to work with the administration. I don't want to point fingers, but let's do what we said we were going to do. Let's honor the intent of that budget that we passed."
To further the snow discussions on Tuesday, Wyatt also introduced a resolution aimed at enhancing the timely release and effectiveness of the City of Buffalo Snow Plan. The resolution calls for an amendment to the Buffalo City Charter, shifting the deadline for filing the City Snow Plan from Nov. 1 to April 1 each year.
The current mandate in the Buffalo City Charter requires the Department of Public Works to submit the City Snow Plan by Nov. 1 annually. However, this deadline has posed challenges, in terms of providing adequate time for comprehensive review, necessary adjustments, and the allocation of resources in the city budget to implement the plan effectively.
The resolution, also sponsored by Council President Darius Pridgen, Majority Leader Rivera, Nowakowski, Bollman, Councilman Joseph Golombek Jr., was sent to the Legislation Committee meeting for further discussion.
"I think we should put something in the Charter that it does have to come in earlier," said Councilman Golombek on Tuesday. "While it sounds silly, in a way, to do it in April, I understand the reality behind that. We have the budget coming up in May, so if we knew in April what the upcoming Snow Plan was going to be, we would be able to address it better than finding out on Nov. 1. Yeah, there's the capital budget in November that we'd be voting on, but it's going to be fresh in our minds in May, because how many times have we made priorities - it's not a shot at us either - during the storm, and then May rolls along and we're on to the next thing. I think this should be something that should be codified."
"I don't think we should wait until Nov. 1. We've had the 'October Surprise'. They should provide us that information, even before the budget year," Rivera added. "I think we should change the Charter to make it from November to April, before we go into the May budget hearings. We should move it up. We should have that information right now so we can disseminate that information, so we can feel confident and we can share that information with the general public."
To facilitate a transparent and informative dialogue, the Buffalo Common Council has formally requested an immediate response from the administration on these crucial matters. A response to the Council is expected to be delivered during the Civil Service Committee Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Representatives from the administration, the Department of Public Works, the Buffalo Police Department, Human Resources, and the Bufflo Fire Department have been invited to attend and address the Council's requests for updates.
Hear more from Tuesday's entire Buffalo Common Council meeting available in the player below: