This week’s Caucus meeting was relatively brief. Caucus is the “meeting before the meeting,” at which members hear from department heads and can dig into greater detail about how the city runs. For example, they will often hear from the Department of Public Works’ director Nolan Skipper; the Administration and Finance Department, as well as the Comptroller’s Office, generally attend. They plan out how they will be voting at the following day’s “Regular” bi-weekly meeting.  

Council member Rasheed Wyatt asked Skipper about the city’s use of road salt, and how we are managing the risk of it getting into waterways. Skipper said that the DPW is looking into alternative products (like sand), but currently the city has to use rock salt.

Most people follow the meetings via facebook, but this week’s online Caucus broadcast fell prey to the technical difficulties that often plague City Hall. Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope reminded folks to speak up, since “mics that were purchased for this room… were never installed, and we’re trying to find them now. They may have . . . walked away.” Later the broadcast cut out entirely. 

Members of the public seldom attend these meetings in person, but they are welcome to; Caucus is held in City Hall room 1417.

In the Regular meeting, council members sent a report from the Office of Strategic Planning to the Finance Committee for next week. Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope asked for representatives from the Mayor’s office, Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, and the Department of Public Works to be at the committee meeting, next Tuesday at 10am, to discuss their plans for demolitions, sidewalk replacement, and building stabilizations. 

The council forwarded various claims against the city to the Claims Committee for discussion next Wednesday, the 25th, at 1pm.  These include resolutions of several claims of police misconduct: one is for two officers accused of planting drugs in a resident’s car, another for excessive use of force and false arrest, and a third for driving through a red light and causing a three car crash. Together these settlements will cost the city over $1.3 million.  

Council member Wyatt  discussed residents’ complaints about the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. A meeting this week to present BMHA’s annual plan turned into a shouting match, he noted, and board members do not show up at all the meetings. Wyatt asked the BMHA board members to come to next week’s Community Development meeting, on Tuesday the 24th at 2pm.

The council adopted President Pro Tempore Zeneta Everhart’s proposal for a Buffalo Youth Council.  This group, elected throughout the city by district, would be charged with “proposing ideas, sharing perspectives from youth across the city, and contributing insight into legislation affecting Buffalo’s youth.” They would be advisors to the Common Council.

The council also adopted a request to the city’s law department, asking whether the city’s payment agreement with the Police Benevolent Association (the police union) was valid, given that it had never gotten the approval of the Common Council. The Council is the city’s legislative body, and is in charge of setting salaries for city employees.

The council approved of the appointment of Shane Paul, of Shared Mobility, Inc., as the head of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.  The BPAB is in charge of finding “solutions for various problems experienced by cyclists, pedestrians and persons with disabilities.”