BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Facing a projected $70 million budget deficit, the City of Buffalo is taking a new approach to help close the financial gap: asking event organizers to reimburse the city for police and fire services.
The Common Council passed a budget amendment this week that sets the stage for these reimbursements.
READ MORE: Common Council approves City of Buffalo budget in 6-2 vote
“This budget was filled with a lot of tough discussions,” said Council President Bryan Bollman. “Essentially, our backs are against the wall. We know the city's entire fiscal situation."
One of the biggest expenses on the city’s balance sheet is overtime, particularly for police and fire staff working special events. Bollman said Council members debated cutting overtime spending in half, but Police Commissioner Alphonso Wright warned such a move would “cripple” the department and compromise public safety.
"In a lot of these instances, yes, it could be, it could increase our overtime costs," Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon said. "So again, things that I think we should have reimbursed to the City of Buffalo if we're providing that service, it's technically on the books right now already. It's just a matter of us enforcing it now."
Instead, Council members targeted special event services — such as parades, concerts and sporting events — as a potential area for cost savings.
“If a resident in my district wanted a special police detail, they would have to pay for it,” Bollman said. “So we do believe that, you know, in this dire situation, the city's not able to have the luxury of providing these services for free, so it's one opportunity where we could realize some savings, cut the budget.”
Right now, the city already sometimes gets reimbursed for event-related costs, but it’s not applied consistently.
"We've had conversations about this in the past on the council," Scanlon said. "I can tell you that I, myself and some others raised questions about this years ago, about waiving fees associated with things, and wanted to try and get away from that. So we're looking to do that as we move forward."
Bollman said some nonprofits can apply for waivers, while larger events, especially those downtown like the KeyBank Center and Sahlen Field, may be using city services at no cost.
City officials plan to work with event organizers and revisit contract structures in the coming months. The amendment is not expected to apply immediately, meaning upcoming events like this weekend’s Pride Parade would not be affected.
“We just raised taxes on residents by 8%,” Bollman said. “If there are opportunities to save money without cutting essential services, we have to look at them.”
"We'll work with the organizers to make sure that we're not impacting negatively those events, but at the same time, making sure that the city is being reimbursed for our services," Scanlon added.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
