Buffalo Council Approves Parking Authority Appointments amid Debate over $28 million Budget Gap
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Summary
The Common Council voted to approve appointments to a new parking and mobility authority that will enable selling city parking ramps to cover an estimated $28 million budget shortfall, drawing objections from members who cited transparency and long-term revenue loss.
The Buffalo Common Council voted to approve appointments to a new parking and mobility authority that the city plans to use to sell parking ramps and generate one-time revenue to plug an estimated $28,000,000 budget shortfall.
Council members debated the measure for more than an hour on the council floor. Council member Rivera voted against the item, saying the move transfers long-term assets and future revenue to an authority that is less accountable to the public. “The downside is that this is a one-time thing…those holes are gonna be reoccurring year after year after year until we make strong decisions,” Rivera said during his remarks.
The majority leader defended the timing and safeguards added to the authority, saying state legislation requires the authority to be seated by Dec. 31 and that the council inserted new representation onto the authority’s board. The majority leader said the authority will include council representation “for the first time” and that the budget was prepared assuming the authority’s resources. “Our entire budget was created based on these resources being done,” the majority leader said.
Council member Nowakowski also expressed reservations about creating another authority and selling city assets, but said he understood the action as a short-term measure to avoid larger fiscal pain. “This is a transaction that’s occurring so that we can get revenues to close out our books this year,” Nowakowski said, adding he would scrutinize future transfers of individual ramps rather than approve a blanket sale.
Council member McGilumbick said he had long-standing concerns about authorities but supported the vote to avoid immediate tax increases or further borrowing. He said he trusted certain city officials’ projections about potential proceeds but remained cautious about long-term consequences.
The measure passed with the majority voting in favor and Council member Rivera recorded in the negative. Council members also moved related items—receiving and filing paperwork on the newly created Board of Buffalo Parking and Mobility Authority and authorizing steps necessary to begin appraisals, title searches, and requests for proposals tied to the potential disposal of parking assets.
Council members who supported the measure said appraisals and the RFP process will determine whether the anticipated sale proceeds match the budget assumptions; opponents warned that selling ramps would forfeit ongoing revenue streams and shift decision-making to an authority that does not answer directly to the council.
No formal dollar amounts for individual ramp sales were provided during the floor discussion. Council members said further details would come after appraisals, and that any subsequent disposals of specific ramps would return to the council for approval or review.
