How Does Buffalo’s Taxes Compare To Neighboring Towns

The condition of Buffalo's finances and pending changes to the amount of the city's property taxes have been in the news and all over social media a lot lately. With New York State's second-largest city on the verge of making a massive change in how much money it collects from residents, it's a necessary conversation that people should be engaging in.

For far too long, the city of Buffalo has not collected anywhere near enough revenue in order to properly provide the services that a city of its size needs. According to a social media post that Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan posted online, for the last 20 years, the city government has failed to make investments in itself, and we're starting to pay the price for that financial neglect.

My administration is prioritizing disciplined and efficient spending, but this is not a problem we can cut our way out of... Our services have already been cut to the bone—there is not much left to trim. But if we don’t begin to close our budget gaps, the only option we would have is to further reduce our police force, fire department, and city workers. That’s not something we’re interested in doing.
-Sean Ryan, City of Buffalo Mayor

With Buffalo on the verge of increasing taxes by 25% or more, lots of people are really concerned that Buffalo will become unaffordable. But, in a state like New York, which is one of the highest taxed states in the nation, how do Buffalo's taxes really compare to other places in Western New York? We already know that Buffalo has the lowest property taxes when compared to New York's big six cities, but what about when looking at its direct neighbors in Kenmore, Tonawanda, Amherst, Cheektowaga, West Seneca, and Lackawanna?

Does knowing this data change your mind or perception about Buffalo's taxes? Or does a potential 25% increase, even though it will still be much less than its neighbors, still seem too much to be applied in one year?