Amended budget approved by Buffalo Common Council

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - During a special session of the Buffalo Common Council Friday afternoon, lawmakers approved an amended budget for the city which trims a proposed property tax increase from 4.5 percent to 3.5 percent.

"The Council today voted unanimously to accept the Mayor's budget with amendments and though some of those amendments were very important to the communities, such as, taking out the user fee raise, lowering of his initial request of taxes, the elimination of Shot Spotter technology until communities have been educated and until the police are educated by the communities. There was also an elimination of top officials raises and a small raise for some of our lowest paid workers. So, we feel that this was a responsible budget and that there were responsible changes to that budget and we worked closely with the Administration to make these changes happen," said Council President Darius G. Pridgen.

The spending plan is approximately $30 million more than the 2021-2022 Adopted Budget, representing a rate of growth of 6.2 percent. This rate of growth is still lower than the annualized rate of inflation. Contributing to this spending increase are an additional $2.5 million for utilities, $2.1 million for gasoline, and $1.1 million for automobile repair and maintenance supplies over the amounts budgeted in the current year.

The City is also using federal stimulus funds available to make one-time purchases of 19 new Department of Public Works vehicles—including 11 new vehicles for the snow fighting fleet—at the cost of over $2 million and twenty new police vehicles for $1 million.

In light of the May 14 shooting at Tops Market, and other, long-standing requests from the community to appropriately address crime, the adopted budget is allocating an additional $5.2 million to the Police Department. In addition to the funding for the 20 new police vehicles, this increase will support 14 new detective positions who will significantly improve the Department's ability to clear and resolve cases.

"This year's budget is a win for the residents of our City. Not only will it make critical investments to enhance and improve the services people rely on, but it also places the City on sound fiscal footing that will be the foundation for a stronger economic and fiscal outlook," said Mayor Byron Brown.