City of Buffalo Looking For Your Help To Set Spending Priorities

Living in one of the highest taxes states in the nation comes with some pluses and minuses when it comes to money. Local and County governments often have lots of money coming into their coffers to fund all of the services that the people need. At the same time, it often seems that governments are spending funds on things that some people may not think are a priority when they look at the details.

With this in mind, just about every local government in the area is in the process of preparing the financial budget for the government to run for the fiscal coming year and some of them are seeking more information directly from the residents to make sure that they are prioritizing the things that are important to the people.

The City of Buffalo is one of those governments that are embracing a concept called participatory budgeting.

What Is Participatory Budgeting?

According to the University at Buffalo, Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. It enables taxpayers to work with government to make budget decisions that affect their lives.

Even though this process has existed around the world for many years, it's only now starting to become popular with governments in America, and it's vastly different than the way things have historically been done in places like New York State.

Buffalo's City Budget

Buffalo, which is the second-largest city in New York State, had a combined annual budget of more than $1.7 billion of taxpayer money in 2022 and used it to cover a wide variety of things.

There are lots of people all over the area who would love to have a greater say in how we spend our money.

Buffalo Wants Your Help To Set Spending Priorities

If you want to particulate in how the city plans to spend its money in the coming fiscal year, which is set to start on July 1, 2023, officials from the Buffalo Common Council are looking for your suggestions and ideas.

This survey is an opportunity for you to share your thoughts and opinions on how the city should allocate its resources to best serve the community. The Buffalo Common Council values input from its residents, and this survey is just one of the many ways we are working to engage with the community and ensure that the city’s budget reflects the needs and priorities of its residents.
-Buffalo Common Council

You can click here to access a survey that officials have made available for them to gather information. Officials have also produced a guide to help you understand how the City's budgeting process works.