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Council presses corporation counsel over foreclosure surplus funds; courts deemed prior payouts a 'gift of public funds'

Committee on Finance, City of Buffalo
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Council members criticized past in-rem foreclosure changes after learning surplus proceeds from prior in-rem auctions were not escrowed and courts found earlier attempts to remit proceeds would have been a gift of public funds, leaving affected homeowners without recourse.

A contentious exchange in the finance committee focused on surplus proceeds from in-rem foreclosures and whether prior council guidance and corporation-counsel advice led to residents losing funds. Council members said they were advised during earlier policy changes that homeowners would still be able to reclaim surplus proceeds; several said those assurances influenced their votes.

Corporation Counsel explained the legal…

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