BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan is raising urgent concerns about the city's deteriorating snow removal capabilities, revealing that the city now has only 14 working snow plows available for winter operations.
During the season's first major storms, Buffalo deployed about 170 pieces of equipment to clear city streets. However, the vast majority came from private contractors, along with assistance from county and state resources. The city initially had between 36 and 40 of its own vehicles available, but that number has now dropped to just 14 pieces of equipment, with the rest currently in repair shops.
"The City of Buffalo has failed to invest in itself," Ryan said.
Ryan attributes the crisis to multiple factors spanning roughly a decade, including staffing shortages, the city's inability to issue bonds and poor long-term planning.
"And for 11 years in a row, we had shrinking revenues and growing expenses that only yields to one thing: bankrupt city," Ryan said.
The mayor revealed that Buffalo is operating with 50% fewer mechanics than needed to properly maintain the city's fleet.
"One of the reasons we're down so low is because the city stopped properly paying their mechanics. We just lost a mechanic to go over to Erie County, and they're making 30% more," Ryan said.
Ryan emphasized that the failure extends beyond any single individual to encompass all levels of city government. He said the city needs approximately 40 working snow plows to implement his desired snow removal plan effectively.
The mayor stressed that financial stability is crucial for securing state investment in Buffalo's infrastructure.
"We need to normalize our finances and until it's normalized, the state is not going to invest in the city of Buffalo, and that's what I'm trying to do now is get the city back on firm financial footing to show that we have a multi-year plan and then I believe the state will come in and help us," Ryan said.
City Councilmember Rasheed Wyatt recently drafted a letter to the Department of Public Works requesting an update on winter fleet and equipment status, with plans to discuss the issue at an upcoming council committee meeting.
Ryan said the city desperately needs bonding authority to purchase essential equipment, noting that Buffalo is years behind on acquiring fire trucks, police cars, and snow plows.
"This goes back to this bonding fight that is going on between the old mayor, the comptroller and the city council. We don't have enough money to fix our problems this summer," Ryan said.
The mayor said the city has $15 million allocated for summer projects but emphasized that significantly more funding is required to address the infrastructure deficit.
The city comptroller's office did not respond to my request for comment by the time the story aired in 7 News' 11 p.m. newscast.
