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City Needs Help from State to Solve Fiscal Crisis

By Mark Scott

Buffalo, NY – The Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority received an update from city officials Wednesday on the status of the fiscal recovery plan.

Finance Commissioner James Milroy said in the best case scenario, the city may be able to lift the wage freeze and end the 2006-2007 fiscal year with a two million dollar surplus. But he says deficits would return in the succeeding three years.

Milroy said the city needs help from the state to make structural changes and to provide the additional financial resources to pay for such efficiencies as Citi-Stat.

"We really have nowhere else to go. We don't have the ability to increase our property taxes. We don't have any other growth revenue streams," Milroy said. "In order for us to re-engineer the city, we need to have a positive relationship with our unions going forward so we can negotiate changes. And we need the money to implement the efficiency proposals to positively address the remaining gaps in the out years."

School district administrators told the control board that the district is continuing its single provider health plan despite an arbitrator's ruling against it last week.

The control board did not address the recent parking ticket blitz, which some blame on the board's wage freeze.