By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Buffalo is preparing to take back City parks from Erie County. The County wants to end its four year old city-county parks merger. The County Executive's proposed budget calls to return City parks back to Buffalo. Mayor Byron Brown is making plans for a possible transition.
The County has been warning the City that it plans to return city parks back to Buffalo in June of next year. The Mayor and County executive have failed to hammer out a deal to extend the merger. That plan was created during the height of the City's fiscal crisis four year's ago.
Mayor Brown says he is in the process of creating a new plan to be prepared for a take-over. Under the current plan, the City provides $1.8 million a year to the County to help handle the parks. But now Brown must figure out how to pay for the return of all city parks, and he's not not sure how it will effect parks workers.
Brown says there are a whole host of issues that need to be resolved. The parks plan would need approval from the City's control board.
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