Mayor Brown details proposed $41M budget increase during State of the City

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, in his annual State of the City address, spoke on changes in the city’s budget and crime rates year-to-year, as well as broader changes in the city’s finances since he took office in 2006.

Introduced with a video narrated by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Brown spoke on infrastructure projects, new snow-fighting equipment, infrastructure improvements and the proposed budget for the next fiscal year.

Budget and Taxes

That proposed budget is just under $618 million — an increase of 7.1% from the current budget of $576.9 million.

“My record shows I am a fiscal conservative,” he commented. “There are hard decisions to be made in this budget.”

In a news release, the city said various factors led to the higher budget, including union contracts, health insurance costs, Medicare and capital debt. With this, the city is proposing a 9% tax levy increase to bring in an additional $14.3 million in revenue.

“The tax bill for a home assessed at $100,000 will increase by $78 annually, which equates to a little over $6.50 per month,” City of Buffalo officials said.

A commercial business assessed at $200,000 would see an increase of $464, Brown said.

Jobs, Investment and Infrastructure

Early on in his address, Brown announced that the city would be giving $500,000 to Shea’s Performing Arts Center. The mayor also announced a bidding effort to bring the Sundance Film Festival to Buffalo.

Brown says the city has invested more than $10 billion into development since 2012, including the creation of more than 4,500 affordable housing units.

Additionally, Brown says the city’s workforce is more diverse than ever, unemployment has fallen and the value of property in Buffalo is greater than it’s ever been before.

“The state of our city is strong,” Brown said.

(Mayor Brown speaks on affordable housing projects in the video above)

Decrease in Crime

2023 saw a 28 percent decrease in shooting incidents compared to 2022, and there was a 32 percent drop in shooting victims.

Year-to-year, there was a 58 percent drop in shooting homicides and a 44 percent drop in total homicides.

“Additionally, we are reporting a homicide solvability rate this year of 137 percent,” Brown said.

Remembering the Victims of 5/14

The Tops mass shooting on May 14, 2022 resulted in the loss of 10 lives. Since then, a committee has been working to establish a memorial to remember those victims.

“The events of that day are still painful,” Brown said before calling for a moment of silence that was followed by an announcement.

In May, there will be a series of sessions where participants can create cyanotypes on prayer flags in remembrance of the victims of the Tops mass shooting, Brown said.

The City of Buffalo is committing $1 million to help build a permanent memorial to the victims. In the coming weeks, the 5/14 Memorial Commission will announce the results of its request for memorial proposals.

(Mayor Brown speaks on the 5/14 Blue Flag Initiative in the video above)

“If Buffalo’s history has taught us anything, it’s that we are strong and resilient,” Brown said.

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Evan Anstey is an Associated Press Award, JANY Award and Emmy-nominated digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2015. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

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