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Buffalo Common Council Summary: Week of November 25, 2024

Date: November 29, 2024
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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. As a reminder, anyone can attend these meetings. They are on the 13th floor of City Hall, and all the agendas can be found on the council’s meeting website.

In the Caucus meeting, members asked Commissioner of Administration and Finance Delano Dowell about the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, and how much of it had already been committed and paid out. The city’s original plan for the ARP funds was to send a chunk of the funds out to community groups that would provide programs and services for everyday Buffalonians– like arts programming, job training, and anti-violence programming. Instead, the city ended up using the bulk of its ARP funds to fill holes in the city’s own budget. Some council members have expressed frustration with this. They’re also concerned about how the city will balance its budget once the ARP funds are gone. Dowell said that the finance office was still thinking about ways to increase revenue.

The council agreed they would spend $1.5 million of those ARP funds to stabilize a city-owned building at 725 Humboldt.

This week in the Regular meeting, the council adopted several resolutions:

  • The council appointed 289 commissioners of deeds. These included police officers, some with long histories of misconduct allegations. A commissioner of deeds is a city official who can accept paperwork, such as legal affidavits, and make it “official,” like a notary public does. Their terms run for two years, and they are not paid.

 

  • The council asked the Department of Public Works to develop a strategy for cleaning up illegally dumped garbage, and to undertake a public education campaign to stop the practice.

 

  • The council asked the Sewer and Water Authorities to increase its transparency and accessibility, starting with moving their meetings to City Hall.

 

  • The council asked the New York State legislature to change marriage licensing requirements to reflect the NYS Department of Health guidance on licensing.

 

  • The council asked Corporation Counsel, the director of Permits and Inspections, and the Office of Assessment and Taxation to appear before the council later this month to develop a policy for seizing and auctioning off abandoned buildings.

Council members also received and filed a notice that a company is trying to install up to 265 underwater turbines in the Niagara River.