This week, in addition to their regularly scheduled committee meetings, the council held a “Special Meeting of the Whole.” At this meeting, the council members discussed and voted on Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon’s proposed capital budget. Acting Mayor Scanlon presented his plan in person, something the previous mayor did not do. The capital budget is meant to fund large-scale projects—such as bridges or building repair—and it is developed by the mayor and the Citizens Planning Council.

The price tag on this capital budget raised some eyebrows; the plan requires $110 million in funding. To pay for this, the city would have to borrow money—more than $80 million over Buffalo’s recommended debt cap.

However, some of that money will be paid back. For example, Buffalo Public Schools requested funding for 27 projects, at a cost of $55 million. This loan will be repaid by state educational funds, but nonetheless added to the sticker shock. Another part of the proposal suggests spending $27 million on projects that would be mostly be paid for by federal funds. The city’s spending would unlock an additional $200+ million in federal funds. Another $27 million would go towards the city’s more typical capital projects—public works vehicles, building construction, firefighting apparatus, statue repair, and, for the police, an armored tank.

Last week, the council requested that Brian Gould, the new deputy to the acting mayor, come speak to members of the Civil Service Committee. Gould did not come to the dismay of the committee.

The Finance Committee spoke about the city’s problem with overtime pay: 19% of all staff costs is overtime pay, an amount almost double last years’ payout. Buffalo consistently and hugely underbudgets for overtime. This means that the city’s finances are both shaky and unclear. Last year, we spent $41 million, well more than twice the projected amount. That much overtime means that the city is failing to fill vacant jobs, and instead is paying people tens of thousands of dollars on top of their regular pay. “If we don’t control this number, we all need to get new jobs,” Council Member Rasheed Wyatt said.

The other big news came from the Department of Administration and Finance’s quarterly gap report. Three months into the current fiscal year, the City of Buffalo was already looking at a $18 million deficit. Inviting brand new (it was his first day) Acting Commissioner Raymour Nosworthy to address council members about this, Committee Chair Mitch Nowakowski said wryly, “It wouldn’t be someone’s first day if we didn’t put them in the hot seat.” Nosworthy said that “a perfect storm” fed into this. The budget counted on a lot of revenue—from parking, and from an as-yet-non-existent hotel tax—that had very little chance of ever materializing. It also included an “unexpected fund balance” of $15 million, but apparently this money had already been spent.

To address the shortfall, Nosworthy said, the city would be scrutinizing job vacancies to see which they would eliminate. “If it’s not a title that’s related to generating revenue for the city, we’re going to reconsider filling those vacancies.” The city also plans to take even more money from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. This money has long been earmarked for, and in some cases already promised to, many organizations in the city. However, the commissioner said, “It’s usually just best to put it to revenue replacement…. It’s just cleaner that way…. [the ARP money is] going to be a major godsend for us.” Nosworthy also noted that now every department, including police, fire, and public works, is being asked to cut 10% from its budget.

The Legislation Committee controls permits for businesses, which means they also oversee property manager licenses. According to the city’s charter, the city must have a licensing process for people who want to manage residential rental properties. This is done to “protect the public health, safety, general welfare, comfort, peace and prosperity of the people of the City of Buffalo.” If someone manages three or more residential rental properties, they must be licensed by the city. Council Member Wyatt noted that these licenses are supposed to be for one year and tracked by the city, but they are not. As a result, information about dangerous housing issues “falls through the cracks.”

In the Community Development Committee meeting, employees of the Department of Public Works, along with Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Brittney Montgomery, spoke with council members about accessibility. Discussion topics ranged from communications policies to street improvements, to emergency strategies. Council Member Mitch Nowakowski has called for a comprehensive audit of all city facilities and operations, something that will be overseen by the Disability Advisory Committee.