Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - In the coming weeks, Byron Brown is set to step away from his role as Mayor of Buffalo, a seat that he has served for more than 19 years at City Hall.
After several weeks of speculation and anticipation of his departure from office, Brown formally announced on Monday his intention to resign as Mayor to take over as the next president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting (OTB). The mayor has signed his contract with the corporation, but will not take over office until the timing is right.
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"When I came in as mayor, I started strong. When I leave as mayor, I want to leave strong. So I've made it flexible, because there are a number of issues that I'm working on with the Council and the Comptroller. I want to make sure that those issues are addressed before I leave, so that's why we are saying 'in the coming weeks,'" said Brown on Monday following his announcement.
Over his 19-plus years serving the City of Buffalo, Brown says he had been presented a chance to explore other opportunities, but elected not to pursue them. This time, though, he felt the timing was right for him and his family.
"After 19 years and with the strong leadership of our Council President [Chris Scanlon], I felt comfortable looking at other opportunities. And I felt comfortable consulting with my wife to make this decision, to take this opportunity and transition into a new role," Brown said.
As he gets set to step away from his role as mayor, Brown has come under a bit of fire for electing to leave office with the City of Buffalo potentially facing some financial concerns heading into 2025. City lawmakers have expressed concerns recently over the potential of a projected $40-to-$50 million budget deficit.
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Despite the financial concerns of some, Brown doesn't believe Buffalo's financial situation is as shaky as many have talked about.
"Numbers keep getting thrown out about the financial situation of the city, those numbers have not been accurate," Brown said. "When I first got into office as mayor, we did not have a rainy day fund. Now the City of Buffalo has a $43 million rainy day fund. We were about $12.7 million away from our constitutional taxing limit. Now we have $174 million before we get to the City of Buffalo's constitutional taxing limit. There are a number of options for the City of Buffalo fiscally going forward. I think the city's future is bright, and I think the city, while it has fiscal challenges, those challenges can be addressed."
Brown adds the city has established a fiscal subcabinet that has been meeting on a weekly basis to try and tackle any potential financial issues before he steps away from office.
"I think the gap is more in the range of $25 million. That's still a significant amount of money, but it is half of $50 million, it's less than $40 million," he said. "And as I recently mentioned, there have been several times when I have proposed tax increases or other programs that would generate revenue, some members of the City Council, some, decided that they would reject those proposals, and the rejection of those proposals lost us over $15 million of revenue in the city budget. So I have had a clear plan, I've had a clear plan for 19 years. I have articulated that plan clearly. I think now is the time to ask other people what their plan is, if they don't want to support and adopt the plans that I have laid out."
As Brown now gets set to wrap his time as mayor and transition to Western Regional OTB, what was it that made that position so enticing to leave office?
"One of the things that made that job attractive to me is it is an organization that is an 18-county geographical region. There are 17 municipal members of that organization, and since 1974, Western Regional OTB has been providing resources to those 17 municipalities in Western New York - 15 counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo," Brown explained. "In the last few years alone, Buffalo has received millions of dollars from Western Regional Off-Track Betting. I thought it would give me an opportunity not just to work on behalf of the City of Buffalo, but to increase revenues that flow to all 17 of those municipalities in Western New York.
"Once it was formally advertised, I did some research about what the organization did. After doing that research, I thought it was an interesting position to look at. I applied, it was an incredibly competitive environment. I had to go through a number of interviews, my resume was reviewed, and I had to complete an extensive application to go to the New York State Gaming Corporation, providing five years of taxes, Social Security number, volumes of other personal information so that I could go through all kinds of background checks."
Brown adds that from what he's read, there seems to be no impediments in getting his gaming license being approved.
Next in line to take over as Acting Mayor in Buffalo is Common Council President Chris Scanlon, who will effectively take over office upon Brown's formal resignation and serve until the end of the current term through 2025.
When it comes to the city's current fiscal situation, Scanlon feels the talked about numbers are constantly in motion. Having been on the Council for 12 years and serving as Council President this year, it has made Scanlon privy to some of the most important conversations at the city level, which he feels gives him a leg-up as he takes over as Acting Mayor.
"I've always prided myself on collaborating with my colleagues in government, whether it be the Comptroller, my colleagues on the Council, the mayor, his directors, his commissioners. So I think that uniquely positions me on Day 1 to hit the ground running to address the challenges that you're talking about," said Scanlon following Mayor Brown's announcement on Monday. "I have plans to do so, and I will address those challenges, but we're in a transition period here. And throughout all the whispering of jobs, potential dates and all this that's been going on, one thing I've been sure to do is show the mayor every ounce of respect that he's earned. And I hope he's felt that, because I've certainly felt it coming my way. And in the spirit of continuing that level of respect for the mayor, I think it might be premature to dive too far down into policy."
On top of focusing on the city budget and finances going forward, there are other issues on Scanlon's mind that he will look to address in his time leading Buffalo.
"We've got to make sure we have high quality, affordable housing for the residents of the City of Buffalo who need it, and turning as many of those renters as we can into homeowners. We have to make sure that we are providing public safety and quite frankly, providing for the overall health and well-being of our residents. If our residents are not healthy, if they're not safe, really, everything else is secondary to me," Scanlon said. "We have to make sure we're taking care of them, providing them the education they need, and then ensuring that there's economic opportunity for them once they complete their education."
While the city may face some upcoming challenges, Scanlon is looking at them more as opportunities to take Buffalo to another level.
"I want to address those opportunities with excitement and optimism. And there's a lot of noise from outside of this building, a lot of people pointing at these, so called, challenges, and people using those perceived challenges for political expediency," he said. "And what I would say is, instead of just pointing and trying to pile on, I say we get together and collaborate to address the challenges of the people that we are all representing."
Now with Scanlon set to take over as Acting Mayor, it is possible that the Common Council will be short a lawmaker representing the city's South District. Scanlon has full confidence in himself and his staff in the South District that they can meet the requirements and needs of the constituents.
As for a potential deadlock Council, in terms of a voting standpoint, Scanlon is not concerned about that.
"I have additional responsibilities now to lead the City of Buffalo forward once the mayor's resignation becomes official. And one thing I've done, as I've mentioned a couple of times here today, is always trying to collaborate," Scanlon reiterated. "I've said that when I was on the Council and criticized for being too close to the administration, whether it's the Council, the Mayor's Office and his administration, the Comptroller's Office, at the end of the day, we're one entity. We're the City of Buffalo Inc., and we're better off when we're rolling in the same direction. So again, I plan on using those relationships that I've built with commissioners, with the comptroller, with my colleagues in the Council to make sure we're on the same page, and we're doing what's right for the residents of the City of Buffalo."
So what advice does Brown have for Scanlon once he takes over as Acting Mayor in the coming weeks? It's as simple as continuing to do his thing.
"I think Councilmember Scanlon has been an excellent, hard-working, thoughtful member of the City Council. My advice is to continue to do what he's been doing," Brown said. "To do his homework, to do his research before he talks about things - that's certainly not the case with everybody from this body - and be strong in his decision-making. And as a Councilmember and as Council President, he has evidenced that."