Acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon and Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski have won their legal battle against city Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams and the status of Buffalo’s capital budget.
Judge Emilio Colaiacovo ruled the comptroller does not have the power to refuse or reject going to the bond market to secure financing.
"The process of governing is reserved to the legislature and the executive," Colaiacovo said in his written decision. "It is a non-delegable prerogative that cannot be usurped. Regardless of her intentions, by inserting herself into this process, the comptroller exceeded her mandate and failed to abide by her ministerial rote as provided in the charter."
The Common Council approved the record $110 million capital budget last December, but Miller-Williams objected to the majority of the spending plan. She called the budget “fiscally irresponsible,” saying it goes well over her office’s debt cap of $28 million, and refused to sign off on bond notices for a bulk of infrastructure projects.
Reacting to the court's decision Wednesday, Scanlon said the process had "played out for far too long."
"It's very unfortunate that we had to go that [court] route," he said. "I felt it was necessary to set the precedent of where each department, each elected officials' authority lies when it comes to the charter and the city of Buffalo."
Scanlon and Miller-Williams engaged outside lawyers to argue their corner, and Scanlon admitted that came at a cost to the taxpayer. But he claimed the bigger financial impact will be the delays to the infrastructure projects.
When asked whether Miller-Williams should resign over the ruling, Scanlon said no.
"I don't think it's a reason for the comptroller to leave office. This is a difference of opinion. I believe the comptroller thought she was doing what she was responsible to do. I just don't believe that it was following the letter of the charter," he said.
Despite the ruling, the acting mayor conceded that some of the planned infrastructure work, such as road repair, will no longer be able to happen this year due to a lost construction season. But he said his administration has been trying to "lock in" the price associated with some of them.
Scanlon had started threatening legal action back in August. He believed while the budget was historically high, many projects were reimbursable through other government agencies.
“Here you have a comptroller not meeting responsibilities and trying to take on additional responsibilities that do not belong to that position," said Scanlon on August 15. "I am announcing that unless the comptroller agrees by August 29 to bond out for all projects associated with the 2025 capital budget, I will initiate legal proceedings.”
Miller-Williams defended her decision throughout the war of words and a court hearing, hosting several press conferences and a public meeting.
"It is my duty to ensure that I remain fiscally sound and that we stay within the city's legal and financial capacity," outlined Miller-Williams. "Exceeding the cap, exceeding the cap in a historical manner, could jeopardize our long term fiscal health and potentially our credit rating.”
This is a developing story, and will be updated as more information is gathered.
