Brown’s proposed 9% property tax hike ‘will hit low-income households on the East Side hardest’

If you live in Buffalo, a tax hike is on the cards.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is proposing a 9 percent property tax increase for the next fiscal year. In real money terms, a residential property valued at $100,000 would see an increase of $78 for the year, or just over $6.50 per month. The proposed tax hike is intended to cover wage and benefit increases and fund essential services, according to Brown.

And under the terms of Brown’s proposed budget, city residents’ wallets will take another hit in the form of an average user fee increase of $30. Brown says the increase would make the city’s waste and recycling system “self-sufficient.”

But some city residents will be more affected than others.

“I think it’s going to have a much greater impact on low-income households that live on the East Side of Buffalo,” University at Buffalo Center for Urban Studies Director Dr. Henry Louis Taylor Jr.. “Lower income means they are already struggling to make ends meet. »

Using data and a nomination system, Taylor created what he calls a hardship index to identify underdeveloped areas of the city. These areas are in the east side of the city, where many residents are homeowners and already spend a significant portion of their income on housing, according to Taylor. They are the ones who will be “hardest hit” by Brown’s proposed property tax increase. Most residents of the neighborhoods Taylor identified are black.

“Among the hardest-hit neighborhoods, the median homeownership rate is about 50 percent, but the median household income of these residents is about $40 to $42,000 per year, which is significantly lower than the median income of white households,” Taylor said.

Dorian Gaskin owns a home in Buffalo’s Hamlin-Park neighborhood and owns other properties on Buffalo’s East Side. He says Brown’s proposed property tax increase is too high.

“I think the math doesn’t add up and some things don’t add up,” Gaskin said. “People in Buffalo, especially on the East Side, are probably being taxed and pushed to the limit, and now you’re asking us for more?”

If Brown’s proposed tax hike comes to fruition, Gaskin says it’s “100 percent likely” that he will pass on some of the increase to tenants in the rental properties he owns: “It’s a reaction in chain,” he said. “It’s not just taxes, it’s also user fees, as well as water bills – everything is going up.”

Even if the tax increase occurred, the tax rate would still be nearly half of what it was before Brown took office in 2006 and would remain among the lowest in the region. In an interview with The Buffalo News, Brown pointed out that the tax rate would still be lower than the suburban towns of Amherst, Cheektowaga, Hamburg and Tonawanda.

It’s a comparison that doesn’t impress Taylor.

“It’s just stupid talk,” Taylor said. “When the mayor tries to suggest that the cost of living is higher in Amherst and Cheektowaga and other places than in Buffalo, that’s kind of a smart political statement.”

He says cost of living and median income should be taken into account. Indeed, Buffalo’s median annual income is lower than that of the four suburbs Brown mentioned.

And the difference is obvious.

Buffalo’s median annual income is about $49,000, while the city of Amherst’s is $97,000. The median income in the city of Hamburg is just under $79,000 per year, Cheektowaga’s is $58,000 per year and the city of Tonawanda has a median income of $81,000 per year according to data from the US Census Bureau.

And even though residents’ tax burden is likely to increase, Gaskin noticed an increase in costs was missing from Brown’s State of the City address.

“Politicians also gave themselves raises. They didn’t talk about it,” he said.

Right now, Brown’s proposed budget is just that: a proposal. It requires approval from the Buffalo Common Council, which can also suggest amendments. A public hearing on the budget will be held in the council chambers on May 15 at 5 p.m.

What other tax and fee increases are in Brown’s proposed budget?

• The mayor’s proposed budget amount is $617,965,000, an increase of 7.1% over the current year’s budget of $576,944,950.
• Along with the proposed 9% tax increase for residential properties, Brown is proposing a roughly 12% tax increase for commercial properties. A commercial property valued at $200,000 will see an increase of $464 for the year. Property tax increases will generate $14 million in additional revenue, Brown says
• In addition to the proposed increase in user fees of $30 on average for residential properties, Brown is proposing an increase in user fees of $40 on average for commercial properties to make the Garbage Enterprise Fund self-sustaining .