Look How Much Taxes Are Going Up in Buffalo If Byron Brown Has It His Way

Your taxes are probably going to go up this year.

It's a $513 million budget and an increase in tax levy of about $5.7 million and will focus more money on Buffalo School District, youth programs and garbage fees.

• residential homes 3.4% ($18.49 per $1,000 of assessed value)
• commercial properties 5.5% ($28.22 per $1,000 for commercial properties)

According to the Buffalo News:

 

Also proposed in the budget are:

• $500,000 for the Buffalo Police Department's body camera program.
• $150,000 for Buffalo Peacemakers and $100,000 for youth activities through the Police Athletic League (PAL) of Buffalo. Both represent current funding levels.
• $200,000 for the Buffalo Public Schools, an amount that will be “in addition to the $70.8 million in aid the school district already receives from the City of Buffalo,” Brown said.
• $500,000 in continued funding to Buffalo's Say Yes to Education Program.
• Increased funding of $1.8 million, up from $1.6 million, for the Summer Youth Employment and Internship Program, “allowing the city to hire more young people than last summer even though the minimum wage has increased,” Brown said.
• $150,000 to the city’s Department of Management Information Systems to enhance the city’s network.
• $43,000 for one year of a multi-year contract with LCP tracker, a labor compliance software company that provides data that allows the city to track contractor utilization of minority- and women-owned businesses on city projects.