The Finance Committee meeting was only partly recorded. Deputy Comptroller Delano Dowell spoke about the pension payments the city makes. Almost three quarters of the pension payments go to retired police and fire workers. Last year, of the city’s roughly $600 million budget, $45 million went to police and fire pensions.[SW1] 

Representatives from the Buffalo Sewer Authority spoke about their budget, structure, and prices. Just as the city put off raising property taxes during the last mayor’s long administration, the Sewer Authority put off raising rates for many years. This meant putting off needed repairs and construction. As a result, residents are now seeing sudden, sharper sewer rate hikes, just as they are getting higher property tax bills. Two state programs—the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program and the Buffalo East Homeowner Assistance Fund program—have expired. Now, the Sewer Authority is directing seniors and low-income foils to its own bill assistance plans. About 6,000 households are in these programs.

In the Legislation Committee, members recommended approval for the reuse of 50 Wyoming Street. The old Catholic school building was most recently the location of VIVE, an agency assisting asylum seekers and migrants.  Now, it will be an Islamic school and community center.

Members of the Community Development Committee heard about the latest phase of the plan for bus rapid transit on Bailey Avenue. This project is estimated to cost over $100 million in federal money. It will create dedicated bus lines, new bus stops with raised entry platforms for easy entry, and special traffic signals to allow fast service up and down Bailey.

Less than an hour before the meeting of the Police Oversight Committee, the Buffalo Police Department reps said they had a scheduling conflict and would not attend. This is a common practice for the BPD. However, as Committee Chair Rivera said, these meetings are scheduled in advance, with plenty of time to plan. Rivera noted the committee would not meet again until after the council’s August recess. “The public has to feel confidence in this process,” Rivera said. “And the only way we can have confidence is if we show up to these meetings.”

The police commissioner should explain why the department put five police officers on paid administrative leave without charging them for anything, Rivera said. And what’s going on with the investigation into the police coverup of a sheriff’s reckless and destructive driving? Council Member Wyatt asked about the incident (seemingly kept quiet by police) where two people brought guns to the Jefferson Avenue Tops last month. Majority Leader Halton-Pope questioned why police officers are not using their body cameras like the law says they must. Since the BPD wasn’t at the meeting, these questions went unanswered.

In Facebook live comments, some residents pointed out that the committee has subpoena power. The council could force the police to come answer the council’s and the public’s questions. However, the council doesn’t use that power.

The committee voted to receive and file (meaning remove from consideration) some items that have been on their agenda for years. These included research briefs by PPG and Open Buffalo about improving community relationships with police and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The committee ended the meeting.

Then, suddenly, the meeting reconvened! Police representatives came to speak, and the agenda came back out.

Upon questioning, Commissioner Alphonso Wright said he didn’t tell council members or the community about the Tops firearm incident because it wasn’t related to the 5/14 massacre. In fact, Wright’s district chief did not even tell him for two days. Council Member Wyatt pushed back. He stressed that the BPD should’ve let the still-traumatized neighborhood know.

Deputy Commissioner Patrick Overdorf spoke about the Internal Affairs Division’s disciplinary process. He stressed that Internal Affairs acts thoroughly and honestly, and they appropriately discipline officers.

At PPG, we still have major concerns about police discipline in our city. For example, Buffalo has seen the police culture of “protecting their own;” the high rates of excusing officers accused of brutality; the many charges of significant police misconduct; lack of departmental transparency; and the tens of millions of dollars Buffalo taxpayers pay to settle lawsuits against the police.

Council members discussed a proposal to renew the civilian review board. Council Member Wyatt pointed out that the state’s Attorney General says, “the police should not be policing themselves.” The goal is not to be adversarial, he explained, but rather to improve an oversight system that is clearly broken. This would also make the public more likely to trust the police department.