How Does Buffalo Plan To Spend $500 Million

Even though we're now halfway through the year, with the start of July, the City of Buffalo has, in fact, started a new year—its fiscal year.

New York State's second-largest city begins its financial and business year on July 1st annually. That's when the new city budget takes effect, and various departments begin to renew and start over. From the Buffalo Public Schools to the Police Department, it all starts anew on July 1st.

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The main thing that drives this process for the City of Buffalo is completing the city budget.

The mayor's office initially creates the budget and then submits it to the Buffalo Common Council for revision and approval. Once the Council agrees upon and approves the budget, it's sent back to the city's Division of Budget to prepare for its effective date of July 1st.

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The City of Buffalo, which also maintains funds for the Buffalo Public Schools, Water Board, Water Authority, and other city government-sponsored entities, has a top-line revenue of just under $2 billion. That figure represents around a 7% increase from the previous year, obtained through a combination of tax increases, other revenue increases like charges, fees, and fines, and additional aid from the State and Federal Governments.

With an overall revenue of more than $1.8 billion, what exactly does the city of Buffalo plan to spend this money on?

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These are just a few highlights from the City of Buffalo 2024-2025 budget, which you can review the entire budget here.