BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Saturday marks 100 days since Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan took office, bringing his campaign promises on finances, infrastructure, city services and public safety into focus.
But has he kept his campaign promises so far? Let's take a quick look at a few of the central talking-points.
WATCH: 100 days since Mayor Sean Ryan took office: has he kept major campaign promises so far?
Potholes
Ryan campaigned on what he calls "the basics," with potholes centered as a hot-button issue.
But 100 days in and the potholes persist. The issue tops the list of complaints made to the city's 311 Call & Resolution Center, with more than 1,000 calls from city residents on the subject within the last month alone.
Speaking Tuesday, Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp said the city is working in partnership with Erie County to find a longer-term fix. They intend to hotpatch the potholes - a method of repairing potholes by filling them with heated asphalt. Swanekamp said the city will borrow equipment from the county to do so.
"Until we buy the equipment for ourselves, we'll buy the hotpatch and then the county crews will bring out the equipment," Swanekamp said. "And our guys get trained up on how to do hotpatch while we get up to speed there."
Finances
The city is still operating on the budget created by the Scanlon administration, so the jury is still out on the issue that has dominated Ryan's tenure so far: the city's depleted finances.
The mayor will submit his first budget next week, but he has already said it will include a 25% property tax increase for Buffalo homeowners. It's part of a four-year plan to stabilize the city's fiscal health, which includes plans for smaller tax hikes in the out-years, according to Swanekamp. Ryan remained bullish on the need to raise revenue earlier this week.
"Math is math, two plus two equals four, you can't change that. So the amount of the gap of the budget, it's not changeable," Ryan said.
Public Safety
Ryan made his first major move in the public safety sphere this week when he announced new Police Commissioner Erika Shields. She previously served as Chief of Police in Atlanta and Louisville. From the start, Ryan made it clear he wanted to attract outside candidates to the role, boosting the salary by $75k and hiring an outside firm to lead the search.
While violent crime remains low in the city compared to previous years, Ryan recently abolished the Buffalo Police Department's foot patrol unit. Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon established the patrol last summer.
It seems the new administration is still finding its footing. But the rubber meets the road when the mayor submits his first budget next week. Will it reflect his campaign priorities? We'll learn more on Wednesday, April 15.
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