Buffalo Raising More Money For Garbage Service
Earlier this year, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown proposed increasing taxes and fees for only the 2nd time in the last 16 years.
The Buffalo Common Council debated those increases and passed a budget that in fact would raise more revenue for the City of Buffalo.
Now, the first bills that are being issued by the City of Buffalo in the new tax year will begin to reflect those increased taxes.
The City of Buffalo's fiscal year starts on July 1 of every year and the first User Fee bills are coming in the mail over the next few days. While the Buffalo Common Council did approve a more than 4.5% property tax increase in the In the City of Buffalo's Approved Budget for 2022-23, city officials did not specifically increase user fee charges.
In the 2021-22 budget, officials have budgeted to receive approximately $27.5 million in revenue and that amount is increasing to just over $30 million this year. That increase in garbage revenue will come from the overall tax increase that was approved.
Buffalo is one of the few municipalities that do not include garbage and recycling services in their normal tax bill. Homeowners and businesses are charged separately for these services. Officials send out the bill in July every year and owners are given the option to pay the bill in one lump sum for the year, or in 4 quarterly installments that are due in August, November, February, and May.
If you are a city of Buffalo resident, be on the lookout for your User Fee Bill as it should be arriving any day. Also, be sure to make your payment as soon as possible because Buffalo adds a hefty late charge if you pay these bills late.
For more information about the User Fee Bill, or to pay online, you can visit the City of Buffalo User Fee website here.
* This article has been amended from a previous version to reflect that the increase in garbage revenue is coming from the City of Buffalo's general tax increase, and not from a separate Garbage User Fee Increase.
How Is Buffalo Spending Your Tax Money?
Buffalo Police Department
$90,714,289 - The Buffalo Police Department, and its 1,077 employees, represents the largest single departmental expense for the City's budget.
Buffalo Fire Department
$71,029,517 - The BFD is the 2nd largest departmental expense for the City of Buffalo. In 2021 the Buffalo Fire Department and its 789 staff members resposed to more than 50,000 calls for service.
Buffalo Public Schools
$70,822,758 - The City of Buffalo general budget allocates these funds to the Buffalo Public School system. The BPS estimated budget this year is over $1 billion, to this $70 million payment only accounts for approxmately 7% of the school systems budget.
Long Term Debt Payments
$34,194,693 - The City of Buffalo has approxmately $163 million in long term debt obligations that need to be repaid over time and this is the amount that officials plan to pay this year on that debt.
Streets, Sanitation, and Snow Removal
$11,487,458 - With 346 employees on staff, the Streets department is responsible for collecting trash and recycling and clearing snow in the winter.
Road Repairs
$725,668 - City officials are planning to spend just under 3/4 of a million on road repairs in the comming year, which includes potholes. It's interesting to note that the city has already spent $1,821,414 on road repairs in 2022.
New Vehicles
$3,695,500 - In addition to the funds already allcoated for the various departments, the City plans to spend additional funds for new vehicles for the Police Department, Streets Departments, and more.