Community activists who called for more cuts to Buffalo's police budget didn’t get their wish.
Neither did the Buffalo police union, which wanted more spending on police in the city’s new fiscal budget approved Thursday by the Common Council.
Mayor Byron Brown has said he does not support defunding the police department but remains in “strong favor” favor of reforming it.
The $534.5 million spending plan for the 2021-22 fiscal year includes $85.3 million for the Police Department, some $743,139 less than its current budget. Reductions in supplies and new police officers joining the force at a lower salary account for the reduced spending, city Finance Commissioner Donna J. Estrich said during budget hearings.
The Partnership for the Public Good, a coalition of 315 community group and nonprofit partners, was among those calling for Buffalo to redirect funds from police to social, community and educational programs such as Mayor Brown’s Summer Youth Internship Program.
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Meanwhile, police union President John T. Evans said in a written statement this week that more funding for new police cars should be included in the budget. He also called for more police officers to be hired.
From January 2020 to January 2021, Evans said, there was a three-fold increase in shooting victims and a 30% increase in homicides amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when people were to a large extent sequestered in their residences.
“We cannot imagine when pandemic restrictions are eased what the impact on violent crime will be this summer,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the men and women of the Buffalo Police Department are focused on protecting and serving the community,” he added. “Whether you cut the police budget, keep it the same or increase it, that focus will never waiver. “
The Council unanimously approved the 2021-22 operating budget for the city primarily as proposed by Mayor Byron W. Brown.
There were some notable adjustments.
Safety measures for school zones
Council members approved $1.35 million in neighborhood initiatives, with the money divided equally among the nine Council districts.
The funding can be used to implement non-punitive traffic calming measures in school zones, such as speed humps, “school” pavement markings and crosswalks by schools if speed cameras are eliminated.
The Council will vote Tuesday on a measure to replace the speed cameras with such safety measures by September.
Council's own lawyer
The budget contains $96,843 for the Council to hire its own attorney to report directly to members and help speed up the legislative process.
The new person would be independent of the corporation counsel and city attorneys.
The corporation counsel, who is appointed by the mayor, still is responsible for representing the Council and the city, its officers, departments, commissions, boards and other agencies, per the city charter.
No more money for police unit
The budget does not include money to expand the Police Department’s Behavioral Health Team because of the complexity of establishing the costs and the extra time needed for union negotiations with the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association.
Last month, the Council’s Police Oversight Committee opened a discussion about new funding or reallocating money to expand the unit, which was formed last year to respond to mental health-related crises.
Pridgen said Thursday that there is a written agreement with the Brown administration to look into expanding the program over the course of the year.
Brown said in a statement that the budget "ensures that we will remain on a conservative and sound fiscal track that strengthens communities and neighborhoods, produces a competitive development environment, and promotes inclusive prosperity."
The new budget takes effect July 1.
