BUFFALO (WBEN - Brendan Keany) - On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Byron Brown presented his recommended budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
This year's proposed budget is a $508.6 million spending plan, which is $4.9 million less than last year's budget. If approved, the budget will go into effect on July 1 of this year.
"This is approximately a 1-percent decrease reflecting the cost efficiencies we achieved and the growth of our regional economy," said Brown during the press conference. "This year's spending plan is structurally sound, continues my fiscally responsible budgeting practices that we have achieved with our partners in the council, and does not rely on any non-recurring revenue sources."
Property Taxes:- City will hold the line on residential property taxes, with an increase on commercial properties
"The increase for businesses will be a little more than a dollar than last year per $1,000 of assessed valuation," said Brown. "In our goal to make Buffalo an affordable, inclusive city, we wanted to reduce slightly the residential tax rate, and to do that, we thought it was important to slightly increase the commercial tax rate."
The mayor also touched on the impending assessment process, which he says won't impact anything for this year's budget, but added that overall property values are expected to rise.
"Our plan is to offset...the increase in assessed valuation that we know is coming, to reduce the tax rate even further in the City of Buffalo, to make increased property assessments more palatable," he said.
Community Investments:- $1.26 million is being invested into the Buffalo Police Department for the full implementation of the Body Cam program, the process for arming officers with TASERS and the expansion of the police vehicle fleet
- Funding for two new classes, totaling 75 Buffalo police officers, to help the city cut down on overtime
- Funding for a new class of 40 firefighters, which will help reduce overtime
- Continue to allocate $150,000 in funding to Buffalo Peacemakers and $100,000 to the Police Athletic League of Buffalo
Youth, Education and Quality of Life:
- Provides $70.8 million to Buffalo Public Schools, which represents close to 50-percent of the city's property tax levy
- Allocates $500,000 to Buffalo's Say Yes to Education and $125,000 to BPS/Say Yes for its Summer Enrichment Program
- A continuation of funding into city parks, arts, cultural and community organizations
- Increasing illegal dumping fines
City Services:
- A $350,000 investment into the Department of Public Works, Parks and Streets for its spot pavement, crack repair and striping program
- Launching a new online payment portal that allows residents to "more easily" pay their property taxes online
- A cost efficiency agreement to consolidate the city and BPS data centers
Energy Plan:
- City is seeking a partnership with New York Power Authority to acquire a street lighting system from National Grid and convert it to LED lighting
- Passed a resolution to begin the certification process for New York State's Climate Smart Communities program, which would make Buffalo eligible for more than $8 million in state grant funding to support energy efficiency
The Buffalo Citizens Salary Review Commission also recommended a salary increase for several city officials, including the mayor.
- Mayor: $158,500, up from $105,000
- Comptroller: $119,500, up from $88,412
- Council members: $75,000, up from $52,000
- Board of Education members: $10,000, up from $5,000
"We have included the recommended salary increases for public officials that was recommended by the Citizen Salary Review Commission, and that will be pending action of the City Council," said Brown.
The Buffalo Common Council must return the budget to the mayor by May 22. Brown can then veto only additions made by the Council, and the budget will become official by June 8.
