As he prepares to hand over the reins to the incoming administration, Buffalo Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon has submitted a capital budget proposal to the Buffalo Common Council.
Totaling $94 million, it is $66 million over the borrowing limit recommended by Buffalo Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams.
But more than half of that is requested on behalf of Buffalo Public Schools, who are not authorized to borrow for capital projects themselves. That spending is 97% reimbursable by the state, according to the proposal.
The BPS money is slated for projects such as heating system upgrades and full roof replacements for two schools.
Other citywide projects include approximately $1.7 million for new snowplows and more than $5 million for new police and fire department vehicles.
In a statement Wednesday, Scanlon said his proposed spending plan “makes strategic and needed investments in our city’s infrastructure, senior and youth facilities, cultural assets, and upgrading fleet vehicles for the men and women of the Buffalo Police, Fire, and Public Works departments.”
The Scanlon administration consulted with the Citizen’s Planning Council who made recommendations regarding required capital improvements, as mandated by the city charter.
But Scanlon won’t be at the helm to put the plans into action. The newly-elected Sean Ryan will be leading the implementation of approved projects once he takes office as mayor on Jan. 1. A spokesperson for Ryan’s transition team, Nick Beiling, said their public works and financial experts are “reviewing” the plan.
“At first glance, the plan makes needed investments in the city’s aging vehicle fleet which is a critical area identified by the transition team,” he added.
Beiling said the team did not have any input in the proposed 2026 spending plan but emphasized “that’s not unusual. The city followed the charter-structured capital projects committee process.”
It’s the second year in a row Scanlon has proposed a capital budget that exceeds the $28 million recommended borrowing limit imposed by the comptroller, and the city is still embroiled in the subsequent intergovernmental fallout. Miller-Williams withheld some bond issuance for the 2025 capital budget over fiscal concerns, leading Scanlon to sue. A judge sided with Scanlon and ruled she must release all funds signed-off by the common council. That's a decision she is now appealing.
The proposed capital budget for 2026 is now in the hands of the Buffalo Common Council, which has until Dec. 15 to amend and approve it per the city charter. Finance Committee Chair Mitch Nowakowski said they plan to “scrutinize” the proposal in the coming weeks. Asked about the challenges of analyzing a spending plan by an outgoing administration that exceeds the debt cap, he looked at the positives.
“[The Ryan administration] might benefit from somebody proposing something larger that'll yield a lot of infrastructure work that's done under their watch,” he said.
