This week's summary will focus on two Common Council committee meetings: the Caucus Meeting and the Regular Meeting. A Caucus Meeting is where members from a specific political party, in Buffalo's case, the democratic party, meet, but official voting on issues does not occur. The Regular Meeting is the Common Council's primary meeting, where they make official decisions on issues.

During the Caucus Meeting, council members heard brief updates from the Comptroller’s Office and the Department of Public Works related to the Common Council’s agenda items. Deputy Comptroller Delano Dowell briefly summarized the January 2022 cash flow report for the City of Buffalo, which reflected a $14.1 million balance at the end of January—in contrast with negative balances at the same time over the last two years. The full cash flow report will be presented to the Finance Committee on March 15. 

Among other minor procedural updates, Commissioner of Public Works Mike Finn shared that American Rescue Plan funds from Erie County have begun to be released in batches, and $1.5 million in funds dedicated to streetscape projects on Bailey Avenue and Fillmore Avenue have just been released. The County is now working with the Department of Public Works to implement these improvement projects. 

The council members present then reviewed all agenda items for the Regular Meeting. Council Member Rivera highlighted and provided background on his resolution to dissolve the existing Buffalo Police Advisory Board, established in 2018 by the Common Council, to provide public accountability and promote professionalism within the Buffalo Police Department. 

Council Member Rivera stated that after receiving notice in early February, four board members were resigning due to concerns with the board's functioning. (He requested to see the bylaws of the board.) Upon learning there are no established bylaws, the Common Council passed a resolution requiring the board to establish them, including a stipulation that the Common Council would confirm future appointments to the board to ensure the board reflected diverse perspectives. 

According to Council Member Rivera, after meeting with members of the Common Council, the remaining board members were not responsive to this requirement and refused to comply with the request. Consequently, Council Member Rivera put forth the current resolution to dissolve the existing board and commit the Common Council to establish a plan for recruiting new members for a re-constituted board. 

In addition to the full list of agenda items requiring Council action, the main topics of discussion at the Regular Meeting included a resolution to encourage the Buffalo Board of Education to prioritize local candidates in the search for a new Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent and a resolution to disband and reconstitute the Buffalo Police Advisory Board. The meeting opened with a liturgical reflection by Common Council Chaplain Rev. Al Warner, followed by memorials and a moment of silence for the people of Ukraine. 

The Common Council received and filed the appointment of Scott Billman, the General Counsel for the City of Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, to the City's Planning Board. As in all Regular Meetings, the Council then either received and filed, approved, denied, or sent to the committee:

• Reports of sale
• Department of Public Works projects
• Permits and inspections 
• Liquor licenses
• City of Buffalo staff appointments; and
• Citizen letters and requests

The Common Council approved a request from the Buffalo Police Department to accept a $490,000 delinquency prevention grant from New York State to "support programming for runaway and homeless youth and youth of color, develop a framework on alternatives to arrest policies and practices, and build trust among communities." The grant period is from 2022 to 2026. 

Council Member Bollman presented a resolution asking the Buffalo Board of Education to prioritize hiring local candidates for the role of school superintendent. He emphasized the importance of hiring someone who knows our community and the school district well. Council Member Wingo lent his support and advocated for the Buffalo Board of Education to consider Interim Superintendent Tonja Williams for the permanent role. Council Members Scanlon, Bollman, Golombek, and Wyatt asked to become co-sponsors of the resolution. Council President Pridgen advocated keeping leadership stable through the end of the academic year. Pridgen also emphasized that while this resolution asserts the desires of the Common Council, the Council has no formal say in the hiring decision for the next superintendent. Common Council adopted the resolution, with the remainder was sent to the Education Committee for further discussion. 

As described above in the description of the Caucus Meeting, Council Member Rivera reiterated the reasons for resolving to dissolve the existing Police Advisory Board and reconstitute its membership. Again, he acknowledged schisms within the previous board, spoke to the need for the board to establish governing bylaws, and affirmed the Common Council's expectation that they confirm new members to the board to ensure representative voices on the board. He acknowledged that the board's current members were starkly opposed to this dissolution, thanked them for their service, and uplifted that the board successfully put forth recommendations that the Common Council ultimately adopted. The Common Council adopted the resolution to dissolve the current board.

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