BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon unveiled on Monday, a $622 million city budget proposal for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
He outlined efforts to close a $50 million deficit through a combination of spending restraint and new revenue sources, which included an 8 percent increase in property taxes.
For homeowners, the tax hike means an estimated $11 increase in monthly payments or about $140 annually for a property assessed at $150,000. The increase is expected to generate more than $13.7 million in new revenue for the city.
In addition to the property tax hike, Scanlon's proposal includes a 3 percent hotel occupancy tax and the creation of a Buffalo Parking and Mobility Authority, both designed to boost city revenues amid waning federal aid.
The plan includes less than a 1 percent spending increase from last year's budget.
Local business owner Christa Penner told me the increase comes on top of a previous tax hike tied to the city's 2025 Reassessment Project, which raised her taxes by 25%.
"We're already seeing a pretty big jump just from last year's taxes," said Penner, who owns ShopCraft in Buffalo. "At a time when taxes seem to be coming from every direction, it's a strain on small businesses like ours to have those added expenses."
Penner said her property tax burden will have increased to roughly 33 percent, when you add this new property tax hike.
The Common Council will review the proposal in the coming weeks, with members putting an emphasis on transparency and public input.
"The proposal that was brought to us was a percentage lower. It's something we will review and talk to your constituents about," said Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope. "As the President Pro Temp said this process is very transparent so we have opened up a public comment period that begins today and ends on the 28th of April for the public to start reviewing the same things that we're going to be looking through."
This is the first budget cycle in years that does not rely on federal stimulus funds to plug holes. The council members are now looking to Albany for assistance, specifically to establish long-term financial plans and benefit from the sale of city parking ramps.
Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski said, "We're looking to Albany to make sure that that legislation is passed because as we structurally redefine how we are able to meet our expenses, it is critically important that we are hyper-aware of the revenues that could potentially come to the City of Buffalo."
Councilmember Joseph Golombek expressed support for the proposal.
"If what I've been told is correct, I will vote for it because it will help us to plug that budget deficit," he said.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 29 at 5 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Residents are encouraged to review the budget and submit their feedback before the comment period closes.
