| Date: | September 7, 2026 |
| Share: |
by PPG Staff
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. If you want to learn more about how the council meetings work and how you can get involved, check out our guide.
The City has moved to a new website for agendas, materials, and video of the council meetings.
This week, council members returned from their August break to a meeting on the first of September: the start of a new year for the Common Council, just as it is for Buffalo’s students.
At the Caucus meeting, where the Council hears from City departments and talks about the upcoming meeting’s votes, members discussed the administration’s decision to reduce bulk trash pickup to once a year. Council members pushed back strongly, eventually deciding to submit a resolution restoring the fall pickup. The main problem, many argued, was that this decision had evidently been made during the Council’s August recess, without consulting or informing them. “Communication,” said University District representative Rasheed Wyatt. “It’s not getting better; it seems like it’s getting worse.”
Department of Public Works Senior Deputy Commissioner Marie Carone said that she would take their comments back to her department and the Mayor’s office. Carone had come to discuss many issues the DPW was dealing with, including community center roof repairs, underground petroleum tank cleanup, bike infrastructure plans, and a contract to spend up to $2 million to prepare Buffalo’s City-Wide Master Plan.
In the Regular meeting, council members repeated their objections to the bulk trash plan, and voted to overturn it.
They also received notice of the Mayor’s nominations to the Citizens Planning Council, a chartered body that proposes each year’s capital projects. There will be a public meeting on September 10th to begin this process.
The Council, which is in charge of the City’s finances, is responsible for voting on whether or not to receive grants. They voted to accept state, federal, and private funding for many projects, including a Zero-Emission Vehicle rebate from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, money for the animal shelter, and a $12 million MOVE-IN NY grant to build mobile and starter homes.
They also voted to continue to rent training space from the City of Cheektowaga for use of their facilities, something that many community groups have encouraged rather than constructing a City Police firing range at the former Matt Urban Hope Center, a community center on Paderewski Drive. They also accepted money for police projects from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Stonegarden.