BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The lead lawyer for the City of Buffalo revealed a plan to hire outside attorneys to negotiate the city's contracts with labor unions Tuesday, and the Buffalo Common Council had questions.
Eight of the city's unions are scheduled to negotiate new contracts this year, including the two largest — police and fire — which have been operating on expired contracts since June 2025.
Rosa Pizzi is Buffalo's new corporation counsel. The city's top attorney has only been in the job three months, but she had a rude awakening when the council questioned why the city would need to hire outside lawyers at a cost to taxpayers.
WATCH: Buffalo Common Council grill city's top lawyer over plan to hire outside attorneys
Masten District Councilmember Zeneta Everhart grilled Pizzi over her level of experience.
"You're our corporation counsel. If your experience is in contracts, why aren't you the number one person negotiating these contracts?," Everhart said. "I don't think that we should be looking for outside counsel over this because we have you."
Pizzi insisted outside lawyers are needed to "streamline" many of the labor contracts under the Ryan administration to save money overall. But she could not tell councilmembers how much those lawyers would cost.
"I do believe that this investment, which would be a prudent one in outside counsel, will reap benefits in efficiencies, so I think this is an appropriate way to handle these contracts," Pizzi said.
In a written statement, a spokesperson for the Ryan administration confirmed outside attorneys will likely be needed to "supplement" the city's corporation counsel while navigating several agreements.
"All eight union contracts covering City of Buffalo employees are expired or expiring soon, which will necessitate several complex negotiations at the same time. The administration is approaching these as one coordinated effort to ensure consistency across agreements, protect the City’s long-term financial position, and deliver fair, competitive contracts for our workforce.
"Given the volume and complexity of that work, outside counsel will likely be necessary to supplement the Corporation Counsel’s office. Operating under outdated contracts carries significant costs to the taxpayers, so it’s critical that we get these agreements right. Any resources used during negotiations will be in service of delivering long-term value, the high-quality city services Buffalo residents demand, and the fair contracts Buffalo's workforce deserves."
