BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — As Buffalo taxpayers digest the Ryan administration's proposed 25 percent property tax hike, city officials are previewing what that money will fund and why they say the increase is necessary.
The proposed increase comes after almost two decades of flat taxes under the Brown administration. The Ryan administration argues that the reluctance to raise taxes and increase recurring revenue led to the city's current fiscal mess of successive unbalanced budgets.
I spoke this afternoon with Buffalo Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp.
WATCH: Deputy mayor explains 25 percent property tax hike, details future city improvements
Swanekamp said if the city had increased property taxes by just two percent each year starting in 2017, the budget would be much healthier, with revenue more or less matching expenditures.
And taxpayers would already be paying close to the amount of property tax that the mayor is asking for now, he explained.
Overall, the Ryan administration estimates the city lost out on more than $600 million by keeping taxes flat since 2007.
So what could city taxpayers expect in return for a possible tax hike of 25 percent?
"Right now, there are over 600 streetlight poles that are down in the city of Buffalo so making sure that they are there, and LED light conversion so we have safe brighter lights that are more energy efficient for city residents," Swanekamp said. "Tools for hot patching and things like that, additional equipment for our plow drivers and operators there."
The deputy mayor added that taxpayers can expect repairs to city facilities and upgrades for the Department of Public Works campus.
But this proposed 25 percent property tax increase is not the end for Buffalo taxpayers.
More increases will be needed in the future as part of the Ryan administration's four-year plan to get the city on a solid fiscal footing, Swanekamp said. Though he would not put a number on those anticipated increases, he said they would be "dramatically less" than 25 percent.
