The City of Buffalo already has been struggling with shortfalls in revenue and increased costs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But a new report says the coronavirus recession could hit cities like Buffalo even harder if the federal government does not pass a relief package that includes aid for state and local governments.
The analysis – published in The New York Times – estimates revenue shortfalls for 150 major cities across the nation. It cited 40 cities that could face "deep revenue shortfalls." Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse were the top three cities, respectively, that could face a "severe scenario," the study said.
The Covid-19 pandemic already looms large over Buffalo's finances. For example:
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• The Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority is asking for New York State legislation authorizing the Control Board to issue up to $121 million in bonds on behalf of the city to finance Buffalo's operating deficits for the current 2021-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years.
• New York State decided last June to withhold about 20% in Aid and Incentives for Municipalities, or AIM, funding from Buffalo and 11 other cities as the status of billions of dollars in federal Covid-19 pandemic relief to New York remains uncertain. For Buffalo, the 20% accounted for about $20 million of the $98 million the city was expecting.
• Also in June, the city borrowed $25 million to close out the $509 million 2019-20 fiscal budget that ended June 30.
• And Buffalo's current 2020-21 fiscal budget of $519 million relies on $65 million in federal pandemic assistance that has yet to be approved by Congress and signed into law.
Common Council President Darius G. Pridgen said he was not surprised by the report.
"The administration has made the Council keenly aware of the impact that Covid-19 has had and will have on the city's finances," Pridgen said. "It was for that reason that the administration and others asked the Council to advocate our federal officials for some assistance in the way of a stimulus bill."
Mayor Byron W. Brown said in a written statement: "We have taken action to mitigate these impacts, including maintaining our workforce and services, assisting businesses and restaurants in re-opening, using federal funds to curb homelessness and ensuring that development projects like Seneca One continue moving forward, but without significant federal disaster relief funding these steps will fall far short.
"If federal action is not forthcoming in the near future, jobs, services and new investments will have to be reduced and eliminated," Brown added.
