This week's summary focuses on the Legislation Committee Meeting, Community Development Committee Meeting, Finance Committee Meeting, and the Education Committee Meeting. The Legislation Committee focuses on local laws, ordinances, and general legislation—except for civil matters. The Community Development Committee focuses on matters pertaining to work or improvement using revenue from another government unit. The Finance Committee concerns all matters about the budget and issuance of bonds. The Education Committee focuses on issues regarding teachers, schools, school property, training, and the Board of Education.

During the Legislation Committee Meeting, the main topics discussed were ordinance changes regarding food store licenses, codification of City policy for dispersal of In-Rem funds, and two special use permits. The Council discussed ordinance changes with food store licensures, including an amendment to ban tobacco products and signage displayed within 500 feet of schools since tobacco companies have targeted youth.

Councilmember Bollman invited Rashawn Small of the Tobacco Free Coalition of Erie and Niagara Counties to discuss the correlation between tobacco advertising and use. He stated that the average age of new smokers is 13. Preventing the tobacco companies from advertising products and signage would decrease youth usage of tobacco products. Krista and Amanda—also from the Tobacco Free Coalition of Erie and Niagara Counties—echoed the same message. 

Councilmembers Pridgen and Wyatt sponsored the codification of an in-rem funds policy. However, Wyatt tabled the item after receiving information that it can't be codified. Kate, a non-attorney advocate at the Western New York Law Center representing low-income homeowners, wanted to have this codified. The current policy allows the City of Buffalo to remove the funds overnight without recourse. Codifying the policy will enable low-income homeowners to address life-changing expenses like operational costs, assistance with transitional housing, and other necessities.

One of the special use permits open for discussion was 8 Wellington Avenue (also known as 239 Linden). The owner, David Pels, wants to repurpose this property as a short-term rental unit. Kate Gregory, a neighbor, spoke in opposition to the permit because the owner lives out of state. She also expressed concerns about short-term use if occupants decide to throw a party and have elevated noise levels and addressed her concerns about garbage disposal. Gregory mentioned how it would be hard to have everyone contact 311 every time there is a disturbance since the owner lives two time zones away in Colorado. Matt Graham, another neighbor, echoed this and wanted the owner to consider a long-term rental instead of a short-term rental. Voting will occur next week. 

Common Council tabled all items during the Community Development Meeting. The meeting opened and adjourned in less than two minutes.

In this week's Finance Committee Meeting, the main topics of conversation were the requested American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds for the Northland Workforce Training Center and the requested continuation of city funding for the Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center. The Finance Committee also approved the transfer of funds to purchase new Buffalo Police Department vehicles.

Northland Workforce Training Center (NWTC) President and CEO Stephen Tucker presented to the Finance Committee on NWTC's past performance and the proposed performance benchmarks associated with its request for $2 million in ARP funds over two years. The Finance Committee has been reluctant to approve the ARP subcontract agreement until it learned more about the impact to date of the NWTC. Tucker emphasized the importance of combining vocational training programs, tuition assistance, wraparound supports, and emergency funding (for housing, transportation, food) for program persistence.

Overall, the Finance Committee agreed that there is value in offering the NWTC program. Still, it wants to make sure that Erie County contributes financial support—which it has yet to do—that city residents from across districts are benefitting and that all the funds from the ARP grant are carefully monitored and spent in compliance with federal spending requirements. The Council tabled the item at the end of a lengthy discussion.

Derrick Parson, Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center CEO, also presented a request for $500,000 in funding from the City of Buffalo as part of a continued contract. The center aims to support BIPOC entrepreneurs and business owners in Buffalo. Currently, the only employee of the center is Parson. These funds would go towards staff positions in operations, program management, incubator management, and entrepreneur success.

Finance Committee members expressed concerns that the Center has not had any notable impact to date and acknowledged the importance of the service provided by the Center. The committee ultimately approved the $500,000 contract extension with conditions, including that Common Council will receive a board list and quarterly performance reports. It also discussed that the Center would request an additional $2 million soon and that this request will need to come with a detailed plan and clear performance benchmarks.

The main topics of this week's Education Committee Meeting were a discussion of the Common Council's resolution in support of prioritizing local candidates for the Buffalo Public Schools' Superintendency, a quarterly report from the Buffalo Public Schools to the Education Committee, and a presentation on Catholic Charities of WNY’s Education and Workforce Development Programs.    

Concerning the open superintendent position, multiple members of the Buffalo Public Schools' senior leadership team provided testimony about the level of the crisis facing the Buffalo Public Schools in the wake of COVID-19. Student and family needs and challenges have spiked due to the pressures of the pandemic. Several Common Council members voiced the importance of our entire community owning a shared responsibility for supporting the education of our youth and uplifted educational quality as a critical part of ensuring Buffalo's future stability and prosperity. The Council acknowledged it has no formal authority in hiring and tabled the item.

Will Keresztes, Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs, Planning, and Community Engagement for the Buffalo Public Schools (BPS), provided a quarterly report:

• Interim Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams engaged in a listening tour across the city as the district sought to solicit and respond to community input;
• This spring, annual standardized testing is for English, Language Arts, and Math;
• The BPS is currently phasing back in after-school programming that it previously suspended during the pandemic. High school after-school programming resumed, and elementary after-school is phasing in but currently without transportation options for families; and
• The BPS is hiring many positions, including transportation, paraprofessional jobs, and teaching positions.

 Several staff members from Catholic Charities of WNY presented on a range of Education and Workforce Training Assistance programs it provides. This presentation was part of the Education Committee's efforts to shine a light on programs and resources that exist in Buffalo.

Need more than just a summary? Contact us at info@ppgbuffalo.org, or find full meeting information and schedules here: http://buffalony.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx