BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN).....One day after members of the Buffalo Common Council blasted Mayor Sean Ryan over issues he advanced with little or no advance information to the nine-member city legislative body, Ryan has fired back.
"They can talk to me anytime," Ryan said. "They know where my office is."
Yet, council members say they feel they are in the dark - sometimes - when it comes new city-wide policies.
"The honeymoon is over," said Niagara District Councilman David Rivera.
They cite the decision by Ryan to drop the fall trash pick up and the mayor asking the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to bond more than $200 million to help finance capital projects that have been stalled for more than two years because of a legal dispute between the Common Council and Mayor's office and City Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams, who refuses to issue the bond.
By going through the fiscal stability authority, it may help break the legal logjam with Miller-Williams, who continues to appeal repeated judicial verdicts that back the council and mayor.
Council members contend they are finding about these Ryan-driven initiatives through media reports.
Not so, Ryan says.
"We have communication, back and forth, all the time," Ryan said.
Many of the changes Ryan has championed are part of his campaign agenda that centers on improving Buffalo from its quality of life to being more business friendly to returning to the city's pre-Covid swagger.
"Change requires change," Ryan said. "If you keep fighting change, then Buffalo is going to go backwards."
Ryan, Council strained relations over several issues
Ryan, Council strained relations over several issues
