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Comptroller flags $7.3 million third‑quarter deficit; cites missing tribal payment and settlement cost
Summary
At a Buffalo City Council meeting, the comptroller presented a response to the administration’s third‑quarter GAAP gap report showing a $7.3 million deficit versus the administration’s $2 million projected surplus, citing an unreceived tribal compact payment and the Ortiz settlement as primary variances.
Comptroller (name not specified) told the Buffalo City Council on Oct. 11 that the office’s response to the administration’s third‑quarter GAAP gap report shows a $7.3 million deficit, compared with the administration’s projection of a $2 million surplus.
The comptroller said the gap report covers nine months of actual fiscal‑year financial data and three months of estimated figures for the city’s fiscal year. “The administration is reporting the second payment from the tribal compact, an advance payment of $5,400,000,” the comptroller said. “We don’t have that money in house, so we don’t count it.” The comptroller also said the Ortiz settlement, which her office included as a $6,500,000 expense, contributed to the variance.
The discrepancy reflects different accounting choices and timing: the administration’s numbers include an anticipated tribal compact advance that the comptroller said had not been received, while the comptroller included the Ortiz settlement expense because the settlement had been approved by the time her office completed its analysis. The comptroller said both the administration and her office perform separate analyses and that further detail would be discussed in the finance committee next week.
During the exchange, a council member asked whether the state could advance the tribal funds; the comptroller said the administration had been “assured, numerous times” that the state would advance the payment but reiterated that the comptroller’s office does not recognize revenue until cash is on hand.
The comptroller’s presentation was framed as a response to the administration’s GAAP gap report and did not include a formal motion or vote during the portion of the meeting recorded in the transcript. Council members and staff were directed to discuss the numbers further at the finance committee session scheduled for the following week.
The council did not adopt any budget action during this discussion; members were told the finance committee will review the detailed variances, including the tribal compact payment timing and the Ortiz settlement, before any formal decisions are made.
