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Buffalo comptroller, administration give differing deficit estimates as city faces extended negative cash flow
Summary
City finance officials told the finance committee that Buffalo began 2026 with a deep cash shortfall and could face a $4.4 million shortfall for the year unless one‑time revenues — a parking‑ramp sale, casino proceeds and a proposed $30 million state payment — materialize. Council members asked for reconciled numbers and a written gap response.
Deputy Controller Dwayne O'Dow told the Finance Committee on March 10 that Buffalo began January 2026 with a negative $31,278,000 balance and ended the month with a negative $39,576,000, leaving the city about $60,000,000 worse off than at the same point a year earlier. "We spent $8,300,000 more in the month of January than we actually brought in in cash," Dwayne O'Dow said, listing property tax, Medicare D rebates and sales tax as the month’s principal receipts and personnel and benefits as major outlays.
The comptroller's office and the administration offered different assessments of the year's likely shortfall. O'Dow said the comptroller’s analysis — which included anticipated receipts such as $11,000,000 in casino funds, $26,500,000…
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