Buffalo Common Council Summary: Week of May 29, 2023

Buffalo Common Council Summary: Week of May 29, 2023

Date: June 2, 2023
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By Megan Battista

Each week, PPG summarizes important takeaways from the major Buffalo Common Council meetings. We also include information from council meetings related to our Community Agenda items.

This week's summary includes the regular meeting, where the council makes official decisions on issues. In this summary, we abbreviate “Council Member” as CM, "Council President" as CP, and "Majority Leader" as ML.

In the regular meeting, CM Scanlon asked the council to approve the purchase of a used fire truck rather than sending the request to the finance committee. According to CM Scanlon, the Fire Dept would not be able to purchase the truck if it wasn’t approved that same day. The council members voted to approve the purchase.  

CP Pridgen and ML Rivera were pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of former homeowners when it comes to surplus funds. That is, if someone had their home foreclosed on by the City of Buffalo and the home was sold at the auction for more money than what was owed to the city in back taxes, those funds should go to the former owner. 

The common council adopted a resolution to be more transparent about job vacancies within the City of Buffalo. CP Pridgen reported that during the budget, one of the questions asked by the community was about empty jobs. This resolution will trigger a bimonthly report of the open positions available within the city of Buffalo to the common council. 

CM Wyatt wants to explore the possibility of creating a Child ID Kit program through BPS and BPD to improve children’s safety. The council adopted the resolution and sent it to committee to be reviewed by BPD and BPS.