BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo's Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon has hit the ground running in his first two weeks in office. The former common council president is fulfilling the rest of former Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's term until the end of next year.
This also means Lovejoy District Council member and President Pro Temp Bryan Bollman is the acting Council President.
But the big question inside City GHall is how much should Bollman and Scanlon make?
The city's Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams told me in a phone call that she sent a letter to the city's law department asking for this clarification.
"It's unprecedented and this hasn't happened before," she said.
She wrote that "the City Charter is silent on acting pay/compensation for elected officials."
"So the intent of the letter was just basically to make sure that we're following the correct processes and procedures when it comes to the issuance on paychecks," Miller-Williams said.
Here's a breakdown of the pay for former mayor Brown, Scanlon and Bollman:
But the question is — should Scanlon and Bollman's salary remain the same or should they get a raise?
During a council meeting Tuesday — members voted to move this letter into the finance committee to discuss further next week. Finance chair and Council member Mitch Nowakowski said Corporation Counsel has already stated a legal position.
"I'm going to as chair invite the Corporation Counsel come to the meeting since the letter was drafted to the Corporation Counsel," Nowakowaki said.
Nowakowski said the meeting may go into executive session — meaning we may not know what the pay could be for another few weeks.
I did reach out to the city's law department to see what the guidance is for pay but have yet to hear back.
