City of Buffalo May Use Federal Stimulus To Fill Budget Deficit

The COVID-19 pandemic had a terrible impact all over the United States. Not only did many people die, but small businesses and local governments took a huge hit from the losses American society suffered. Many communities, like Buffalo, have had a long road to recovery from the long-term impacts of the pandemic.

To help communities, the federal government provided stimulus funds to individuals, businesses, and governments through several bills. One of those, the American Rescue Plan, sent more than $330 million to the City of Buffalo.

The city has used these funds for various things, including plugging holes that exist in the city's budget. According to a report from WGRZ-TV, the City may use another $41 million in American Rescue Plan money to help balance the City of Buffalo budget.

If this does happen, more than $200 million of the $330 million will have gone to pay the city's bills instead of going to the public.

Buffalo has the lowest property taxes in Western New York, which, in many situations, is a good thing. However, in this case, this may be a problem for Buffalo as the City does not bring in enough revenue to cover its obligations. Over the last few years, the City of Buffalo has been increasing revenue by adjusting tax rates and reassessing property values, but it still falls short.

The American Rescue Plan made funds available for governments for various reasons. Chief among those was to help cover COVID-19 expenses, help stem the impact that was felt by small businesses and households, and make investments in a regional water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.

When it's all said and done, if the City uses more funds for its budget, it will have spent more than 65% of this stimulus on balancing the budget.