‘Council Member’ is abbreviated as CM; 'Council Woman' as CW; ‘Council President’ as CP; ‘President Pro Tempore’ as PT; and ‘Majority Leader’ as ML.
 
This week marked a new chapter for the Buffalo Common Council. Chris Scanlon, as council president, became the acting mayor, so the council now has just 8 voting members. President Pro Tempore Brian Bollman will be acting as council president.
 
The Regular meeting was anything but. CMs started by accepting the resignation of Mayor Byron Brown, effective immediately. The council also adopted a resolution to establish a city charter review, a significant process in which the actual shape of the city’s government is determined. CM Wyatt pointed out that this would be an opportunity for community organizations to make their voices heard, so the Review Commission could “make this charter something the community can live with.”
 
The council voted to adopt the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, a new addition to City Hall. Championed by CW Zeneta Everhart, this office will work with state and federal agencies, as well as both educating and being educated by community groups. Council also received the Affordable Housing Task Force’s latest report, which they sent on to the Community Development Committee. That committee also received a proposal from the Norfolk Avenue Block Club concerning the regulation of livestock within city limits.
 
CMs forwarded to the Finance Committee the Buffalo Water Board’s proposal to increase water prices substantially. The Water Board has also been in the news this month because they are finally—after about nine years, much public outcry, and a class action lawsuit—fluoridating our water supply again.
 
The council adopted a resolution, proposed by CM Wyatt, requiring all city boards and commissions to submit meeting minutes and annual reports. This is aimed at increasing transparency in government and allowing the council increased oversight of City Hall’s many official entities, some of which exist only on paper.
 
Council also adopted the development of a Public Dumping Task Force, which is intended to address the illegal dumping of trash in the city’s neighborhoods.