ShotSpotters are out.
So are increases to user fees.
And property tax hikes are lower than originally proposed.
The Buffalo Common Council also slashed pay raises and eliminated some vacant positions when it unanimously approved Friday a $568 million budget for the city for the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Council members cut about $2 million from Mayor Byron W. Brown’s suggested spending plan. The decreases do not change the $568 million bottom line. Instead, $2 million was set aside for citywide programs and initiatives.
“Is it everything that we wanted? Absolutely not,” said University Council Member Rasheed N.C. Wyatt. “But it's something that I hope gives relief to our residents as far as not a dramatic increase in taxes and no user fee (increase).”
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There will still be a property tax increase of 3.5%, less than the 4.5% Mayor Brown had recommended.
The new residential tax rate for 2022-23 is set for $10.27. It’s $18.17 for commercial properties, according to the administration.
That’s lower than Brown’s proposed tax rate of $10.38 per $1,000 of assessed value for residential properties – which would have been an increase of 5% over the current year – and $18.38 for commercial properties, an increase of 6.6%. For owners of a home assessed at $100,000, the tax increase would have been about $50. For owners of commercial properties assessed at the same amount, the increase would be $114.
Those hikes would have generated about $6.7 million more in the city tax levy, a 4.5% increase, Brown said.
The increase under the approved 3.5% tax hike was not immediately available.
The Council and the administration negotiated until late Friday evening on the amendments. Per the city charter, the deadline for the Council to vote on the budget is May 22, which falls on a Sunday this year. The new budget begins July 1.
Other Council amendments include:
Eliminating ShotSpotter technology. The $250,000 expenditure for ShotSpotter technology for the Buffalo Police Department was removed after residents, advocates and community leaders criticized the spending. ShotSpotters use audio sensors to register the sound of gunfire and determine where it came from, all within a minute before alerting police. During a recent public hearing, some critics cited independent studies and research they said showed no evidence that the technology will help and could make problems worse.
No user fee increase. Under Brown’s spending plan, recycling and garbage user fees would have risen by about 4%. The Council eliminated the increase.
Slashing pay raises. Brown proposed raising salaries to about $13.6 million. The Council reduced that by $750,000.
Vacant positions. A total of $420,000 in vacant positions were eliminated.
The budget amendments reflect the priorities of the City of Buffalo, said Niagara Council Member David A. Rivera.
“They wanted a reduction in the tax that the mayor proposed. Our negotiations got the reduction,” Rivera said. “They didn’t want a user fee. We eliminated the increase in the user fee. They didn’t want huge pay raises at a time where people are struggling. We reduced the pay raises to 5.5%. We had a public hearing where people came in and spoke overwhelming against ShotSpotter and we listened to the people."
