BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — We spoke with Buffalo residents and lawmakers on Friday after Mayor Sean Ryan said the property tax levy in Buffalo could increase by around 25 percent.
According to Mayor Ryan, the city is looking to plug a $109 million budget deficit for the new budget year coming on July 1. Ryan said the city believes it can close the gap to around $45 million using efficiencies and state money, and the tax levy increase would help close the $45 million gap.
RESIDENTS REACT TO PROPOSED TAX HIKE
We went to Buffalo's Elmwood Village to find out what business owners and property owners alike make of the proposed increase. The verdict from the people we spoke with seems to be that they will happily pay more in property taxes, but they want to see the impact of their cash, and fast.
According to Ryan, the increase for an average home assessed at $225,000 would be around $25 more each month.
"As long as the homes are valued appropriately, I think a tax rate increase seems very reasonable," said Michaela Schmidbauer, who owns Cafe Aroma on Elmwood Avenue as well as a home in the University Heights neighborhood.
"The City of Buffalo tax rate is way lower than the surrounding suburbs, and you can see it in our resources when you drive down the roads, whether it's covered in snow or potholes, you know Buffalo needs more money to fix that stuff," she said.
Fellow Elmwood business owner, Tracey Wei, is curious about how the extra revenue will be spent.
"What's the increase being used for? What kind of city programs is it budgeting towards?" Wei asked. "I would love for Sean to allocate funding for snowplowing, anything that invests in infrastructure, anything that's for the common people."
But the owner of Scoop Shop, Wendie Reed, is concerned about how some people will afford the potential increase.
"You think $20-$30 a month isn't a lot, but when a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck, it is a lot. Hopefully they don't raise my rent because the property tax went up," Reed said.
"I feel like [the city] needs to show more accountability of where this money is going and what it's being used for," she added.
LAWMAKERS REACT TO PROPOSED TAX HIKE
"I was like, 'Oh my God, 25 percent, that's exorbitant,'" New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said.
Peoples-Stokes is one of the state's most powerful leaders who represents the Queen City. She said Ryan will not get her support on this, and he cannot ignore the high poverty throughout the city.
"I think there are a lot of people in Buffalo who could probably pay that with no problem, but there's a lot more who cannot," Peoples-Stokes said. "And obviously he's trying to rectify some problems of the past, but those problems of the past were not created in one year, and I don't think he should solve them in one year on the backs of taxpayers.”
North District Common Council member Joe Golombek said many residents in his district, which covers Black Rock and parts of Riverside, are very upset.
"I thought it was ridiculous. I think that it's just way too high," Golombek said.
Golombek wants to see Mayor Ryan make cuts and get rid of his deputy mayors.
"14207 is the second poorest zip code in the city of Buffalo, and these are people that are working poor. These are not people that get public assistance," Golombek said.
When asked if longtime Council members saw this coming, Golombek pointed to his voting record.
"For the past two years, I've been telling people that we have this crisis coming," Golombek said. "I've been voting against new positions. I've been voting against filling unfilled positions, and that's a matter of record from at least the summer of 2024."
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who is also a city resident, supports Ryan's effort.
"Mayor Ryan's doing what he needs to do," Poloncarz said. “They have to do it. They've got a fleet of trucks that's falling apart. They've got garbage trucks that are falling apart. We know about the pothole and the road situation in the City of Buffalo.”
Ryan has until April 15 to bring his budget proposal before the Common Council. The Common Council then has until May 26 to make any changes.
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