BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A special meeting to decide how the City of Buffalo should spend $19 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds was abruptly canceled Thursday, just days before the December 31 deadline.
Several organizations throughout the city said they have yet to receive funds they were promised.
Instead of the meeting, four Council members took to the mic, blaming the Byron Brown Administration for failing to disperse the funds before leaving office.
"The Common Council has to reallocate funding because of the failure of the Brown Administration to get ARP dollars out the door," Fillmore District Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski said.
"Throughout the day, several items have been presented to us," President Pro Tempore and Lovejoy District Councilmember Bryan Bollman said. "Frankly, as Council members received information, they had more questions. This is an opportunity and effort to have full transparency."
"We're talking about $19 million in possible revenue replacement funds, but also moving $11 million to address water and sewage arrears for infrastructure," Majority leader and Ellicott District Councilmember Leah Halton-Pope said. "We just need to clarify some things."
This all comes from a proposal from Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon's office.
It suggests reallocating funds earmarked for more than 20 nonprofits to cover "Water Infrastructure Buildout" and "Revenue Loss Replacement"— essentially city debt.
"The first concern is the number of nonprofits that didn't receive the funds promised," Councilmember Nowakowski added. "Some of these promises might have been verbal handshakes from Byron Brown. We don't know."
Nowakowski accused the Buffalo Water Authority of bypassing the Council's authority.
"The Water Authority went around the Council's prerogative, forgiving low-to-moderate income residents' water bills, only to redirect those funds to capital resources," said Nowakowski. "To not respect the Common Council or the sewer and water payers of this city and to reveal this at the last minute, is not only disappointing; it's disgusting."
Among the nonprofits left in limbo is the Ujima Theatre Company, a multi-cultural institution in Buffalo's Niagara District for 46 years.
"We faced countless revisions," said Ujima Theatre Company Managing Director Brian Brown. "Our budget wasn't descriptive enough, and our scope of work didn't tell enough about what we planned to do."
Brown said it is disheartening to learn Ujima likely will not see the $200,000 promised to them, due to an apparent incomplete documentation.
"The city has repeatedly pledged funding for the arts but hasn't followed through," said Brown. "They haven't shown up for us. We are an organization that is heavy on social justice and what is right. What it means for equity and to have a living wage, to be respected, to be loved, to have a space for you to thrive."
For some Council members, the issue goes beyond broken promises.
"When I see where the cuts are going, it's clear: they're targeting communities of color," Masten District Councilmember Zeneta Everhart said. "That's a problem for me, and we're going to talk about it, publicly."
Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams reaffirmed her commitment to working collaboratively with the administration, the Buffalo Common Council, and the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to safeguard the interests of the City of Buffalo taxpayers.
“I am disappointed that, with only two weeks left in the calendar year, these vital resources remain at risk of being returned to the United States Treasury. I strongly urge the administration and the Buffalo Common Council to work together to finalize a cohesive plan that ensures these funds are utilized before December 31, 2024.”
—Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams
The rescheduled meeting to discuss the funding is set for December 23 at 11 a.m. in Council Chambers and will be open to the public.
Once again, the city has until December 31 to allocate the funds.
