Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Despite continued fiscal concerns at Buffalo City Hall, lawmakers in the Buffalo Common Council voted on Tuesday to approve an amended version of Mayor Chris Scanlon's 2025-26 city budget.
The final vote was 6-2 from Council members after nearly two hours of discussions in Council Chambers over amendments to the budget and other matters relating to the future of the city's finances.
Among the amendments approved on Tuesday as part of the mayor's recommended operating budget includes the Director of Open Data, potential gap closing measures, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the initiatives and policies that include:
- Establishing a property tax circuit breaker for low-income residents
- Curbing excessive overtime spending across departments
- Requiring reimbursement for large-scale event-related public safety costs
- Grants-in-aid (GIA) funding for cultural and anti-violence initiatives
- Council representation on the Buffalo Parking Authority
The only two Council members to vote against the budget, as amended, on Tuesday were Niagara District Councilman David Rivera and University District Councilman Rasheed Wyatt.
"We could do better, and I don't think we've done good enough on this budget," said Rivera during Tuesday's Common Council meeting at City Hall. "I think there could have been more cuts to spending, I think we could have been more creative. I think we could have right-sized government. I think we could have added more money to the reserve fund for situations like this in the future, that we know headwinds that are coming against us. And we didn't do it. ... I'm sorry for the votes that I've taken in the past that had gone through many of the reserve fund dollars that we had, when we should have been increasing taxes incrementally back then under the former administration. But we never had the votes. It wasn't that we didn't request it, it wasn't that we tried to push it. It was that the mayor always had his hands and his fingers on the Common Council, and we didn't have the votes to push a little harder. So that is my regret."
Councilman Wyatt also voted against former Mayor Byron Brown's budget last year, saying he saw the writings on the wall for what's to come for the city.
"I'm not going to say I'm sorry, because I didn't support it last year, and I'm not going to support it again this year. And as I said, we should have deep cuts, and we didn't," said Wyatt on Tuesday. "We wasted $331 million with American Rescue, and now I'm going to believe that this administration is going to be able to assist people in tax cuts and giving them additional savings for their taxes. I don't believe it. The same old thing is going to continue to happen, and it's unfortunate, because it still continues to fall on the backs of people who are already struggling, already suffering. I do agree we have failed the people."
While Council members like Zeneta Everhart and Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope voted in favor of the budget, as amended, both feel the city has been put in a tough spot with the budget.
"To the residents of the Masten District and the City of Buffalo, I apologize on behalf of the Council, on behalf of this administration, because we have failed you. We have failed the City of Buffalo continuously," said Councilwoman Everhart on Tuesday. "I spent many nights in my bed with my snacks and my bonnet on, reading through the City of Buffalo's budget, and it's disturbing. When we're talking about a budget, and as Council members, we're supposed to say, 'We want this for our individual districts.' But we can't do that. I can't ask for anything out of this budget for my district, and so that means that I failed you. We all failed our districts, and that's disgusting to say, but I'm willing to say it out loud. I'm willing to own it. But we have to do better, and that's what we're here for today."
Council Majority Leader Halton-Pope acknowledges the fact that this was a rough budget to approve.
"I am grateful to say the $26.5 million cut that happened before we got the budget, I think that's important. However, there's definitely more that can be done," Halton-Pope said Tuesday. "You should be more comfortable cutting yourself back to ensure that those who support you can continue working in some way, shape or form. This doesn't reflect that at all in those individual departments. Again, I'm one of eight, though, so I will continuously fight with my colleagues and for the constituents that I represent in the Ellicott District, and frankly, for the entire City of Buffalo for those who are marginalized, for those groups who've been forgotten.
"This budget is nasty, and I'm concerned about settlements that are going to come out. We just moved some claims items. We've got a lot to still answer to, and I don't know where the money is going to come from. I know we still want streets to be paved, I know we still are going to have to consider neighborhood initiatives. I'm not blind to my colleagues' warnings, who's been here, about the possibility of us going into a control period. I am very concerned that this gap plan is going to be enacted, and the impact on the citizens of the City of Buffalo concerns me deeply."
Mayor Scanlon says for his first budget in charge at Buffalo City Hall, he feels it's something he's extremely proud of.
"This budget addresses our immediate needs, protects essential services, and lays a foundation for long-term financial stability," said Scanlon following the Common Council's vote. "For years, people have been talking about the 2025-26 financial year as the the year the City of Buffalo falls off the financial cliff. Well, I'm here to tell you that while I'm mayor, that is not going to happen. As a matter of fact, I think this year is the year that the City of Buffalo turns the corner financially, and begins to rectify some of the imbalances that exist within our budget."
Scanlon says this budget will result in fiscal discipline and spending cuts for the City of Buffalo, while ensuring that no city employees are laid off.
"Our administration, my administration made $30 million in cuts to the budget. We are doing more with less," the mayor said. "There's $10 million in departmental cuts and reductions, $16.5 million in vacancy savings, and another $1 million in cuts through an amendment today to police and overtime that will result in additional money set aside for our reserve funds.
"There's a responsible property tax policy. We introduced an 8% property tax increase, which turns out to be about $12 on a home assessed at $160,000. And despite rising costs, Buffalo still has the lowest tax rate in New York State.
"In addition to that, we've established new revenue sources. A hotel tax, a 3% occupancy tax, which will bring in $3 million annually, and the Buffalo Parking and Mobility Authority, a new city-controlled entity which will generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue in the short-term, along with an anticipated $2.5 million annually generated that will come to the City of Buffalo, while improving transportation and our parking systems."
Through the mayor's fiscal vision, his administration has developed a responsible four-year financial plan that addresses the $70 million structural deficit that he inherited. It also creates $6 million in new annual revenues, and puts Buffalo on a path towards budget stabilization and fiscal strength for years to come.
"I hear those Council members talk about this frequently, when they talk about right-sizing, and I think you should have a right-sized government. But when they talk about it, they talk about downsizing. It's plain and simple. They talk about downsizing, and I'm not downsizing the City of Buffalo. The City of Buffalo is going forward," Scanlon said. "We're going to maintain our services, we're going to maintain our workforce, and we're going to provide the services we need to the City of Buffalo. I want to take the City of Buffalo to the next level. I think there's people on the Council that want to do that as well, and we have to be able to provide the services necessary to do that."
While some city lawmakers expressed the feeling of failing their constituents with this budget, Scanlon does not believe that to be the case.
"I think this was a very responsible budget, where we have cut $30 million immediately from a $70 million structural deficit, gotten creative to bring in additional revenues that don't cost city taxpayers $1," he said. "Of course, there's a tax increase associated, but when you break it down to what it costs a month, it's very minimal. But again, I would tell you that a year-and-a-half ago, I sponsored legislation that increased thresholds for tax exemptions for seniors and some of the other more vulnerable residents in the City of Buffalo. So we are certainly not looking to penalize or overburden people who are a little financially strapped at the time. And we've implemented some of those protections over the course of the past couple years, but by and large, I think it's a very responsible budget and sets the City of Buffalo on a course to be financially stable in the years to come."
The 2025-26 budget will formally be adopted as of June 8, but Mayor Scanlon is hopeful to have it adopted sooner so residents can have a sense of cost certainty moving forward.