Our Municipal Action Buffalo Completes Review of City Finances

BUFFALO, NY — Our City Action Buffalo found that “payments made by wealthy homeowners have declined significantly” and “real estate developers are receiving significant tax breaks from the city.”

Amber Powers is a board member of Our City Action Buffalo.

“Our report finds that between 2018 and 2023, the city’s wealthiest residents actually paid less in property taxes, while nearly every other property tax bracket increased over that period,” Powers said. “As our city reaches a point where our financial solvency is threatened, we have a very large budget deficit that needs to be closed.”

“It is very important that our elected leaders examine why the city’s wealthiest residents and developers have managed to pay less than their fair share of taxes, and how we will fix this in the future. »

The group recommends a progressive property tax structure.

Fillmore District Councilor Mitch Nowakowski said “we’re going to start facing some really tough and turbulent times next year when we start to see the cash flow consolidate and we’re not going to see the cash flow we have available to pay our bills.”

Powers added: “For too long, the Brown administration and the Common Council have delayed raising property tax rates, and now they are trying to play catch-up by raising them all at once instead of gradually.”

When asked if wealthy homeowners pay less than they should, Nowakowski replied:“Everyone pays the same tax rate, so if your house is worth more and is assessed higher, you pay higher taxes on your own house.”

He added: “The city hasn’t been reassessed for almost 20 years, so people weren’t paying their fair share of taxes. So the reassessment realigns those numbers so that they’re evenly distributed among who pays how much in city taxes per year.”

In July, the Buffalo Common Council will hold public hearings on the reassessment to inform residents of the process.