No increase in taxes or fees and no additional funding for the Police Department.
That's what some Buffalo residents and community leaders said they want from Mayor Byron W. Brown's proposed budget for fiscal year 2022-23 in a hearing Tuesday evening.
“We’re coming off a pandemic, and we’re all hurting for money,” said North District resident Brian Lauer. “Either raise the taxes and then later on for the garbage user fee, or raise the garbage user fee and give us a year on raising taxes so we can get back into the swing of things.”
“I spent a year of my life saying the same thing that we're hearing in these chambers is that more police do not reduce crime. We need to make investments in our community,” said India Walton, who challenged Brown in last year’s mayoral race. "There's a gentlemen sitting behind me that runs a program that teaches inner city youth to swim that serves over 300 families. I'd rather be putting money toward that."
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The mayor’s proposed $568 million spending plan for the city for 2022-23 recommends increasing police spending to $90.7 million, up by $5.4 million over this year. It calls for 20 new police vehicles costing $1 million; adding 14 detectives, expanding the department’s Behavioral Health Team and acquiring ShotSpotters for $364,000. ShotSpotters register the sound of gunfire and determine where it came from, all within a minute before alerting police.
The extra spending for the department would enable police to respond more quickly when shootings occur, investigate cases more thoroughly, resolve them faster and deter violence in our neighborhoods, Brown said.
But most of the approximately 50 people who spoke during the Common Council’s budget public hearing Tuesday evening were concerned about the extra spending on police, particularly for the ShotSpotters.
“All of us in this room and in this city are concerned about gun violence. But the question is what actually works to reduce gun violence?” said Anthony O’Rourke, a Buffalo resident and law professor at University at Buffalo Law School. O’Rourke cited independent studies and research that he said shows no evidence that the technology will help and could make problems worse.
“First, it doesn’t work. Second, it endangers police and residents alike. And third, it can lead to false arrests and convictions,” he said.
Brown’s proposed budget for the city recommends increasing residential property taxes by 5% and commercial property taxes by 6.6%.
Recycling and garbage user fees would also rise by about 4%.
Under the plan, more than 43% of homeowners would see an increase of less than $25 and about 11% would see an increase of more than $100, according to the administration.
But now is not the time to raise taxes, some speakers said, particularly not to the level that Brown recommends.
“In the wake of the last two and a half years with the Covid-19 pandemic, many people are going through hard times right now, and they’re just starting to come above board,” said longtime resident and community activist Samuel A. Herbert. "I’m asking the Common Council to reject Mayors Brown's … property tax increase.” Herbert suggested a "modest" overall property tax increase of 1.5% to 1.8% "because I know the city needs money."
