The City of Buffalo announced that it has adopted the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Operating Budget. If you're wondering, yes, property taxes are set to increase. Mayor Byron W. Brown, Common Council President Darius Pridgen, Majority Leader David Rivera, Council President Pro Tempore Christopher Scanlon, and the other members of the Common Council made the announcement on Friday, May 20, 2022.

Mayor Brown said,

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. I want to thank my colleagues in government in the Common Council, especially the Council’s leadership of President Darius Pridgen, Majority Leader Rivera, and President Pro Tempore Scanlon—as well as the other members— who worked tirelessly with my Administration to craft a budget that keeps Buffalo’s progress moving forward.

The budget increases spending by 6.2 percent, an approximately $30 million increase over the 2021-2022 Adopted Budget.

City of Buffalo Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Operating Budget Highlights:

- $5.2 million to the Police Department

- $845,000 for youth recreational and educational initiatives

- No funding for ShotSpotter technology

- No increase to any user fees

- Property taxes going up by 3.5 percent

- Money for programs for East Side residents, including job-training, increased public safety, and small business development programs administered by the Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center

- $2.5 million more for utilities, $2.1 more million for gasoline, and $1.1 more million for automobile repair and maintenance supplies

The total amount of federal stimulus in the Adopted Budget is $52.5 million. While much of this funding is being used to replace lost revenues from the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic which the regional economy has not yet fully recovered from; other funds are being used to expand services and programs designed to address social and economic inequities highlighted during the pandemic.

Federal Stimulus Funds Will Be Used For:

- $1.2 million for the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program

- One-time $2 million purchases of 19 new Department of Public Works vehicles

- $1 million for twenty new police vehicles

Mayor Brown said,

This budget will help the City’s financial and economic outlook grow stronger while also providing us the necessary resources to make our municipal services able to meet the needs of residents and businesses.

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