BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — One of Buffalo’s deputy mayors defended the need for the city’s largest one-off property tax increase in a generation on Monday.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan recently said that the state of the city’s finances dictated a 25% hike in the property tax levy because of a projected deficit of up to $109 million. On Monday, Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp said a prior administration, without small tax increases, led to a cumulative shortfall of over $600 million — forcing the need to impose a large tax increase now.
Swanekamp said the tax levy for the city should be around $220 million to restore Buffalo’s finances…