The City of Buffalo Budget Fiscal Year 2008-2009

Abstract

The City asserts that it has the ability to: afford three successive property tax cuts”, thereby reducing the overall property tax rate on residential properties by nearly 12%; maintain an unprecedented unreserved fund balance of $105 million with $76 million undesignated; set aside $30 million in City surplus funds and up to $15 million in a separate capital reserve to ensure the City never again faces a fiscal crisis; move the City from a fiscal control period to an advisory one; benefit from two successive credit upgrades from Wall Street; and increase the margin for use from a low of 8% in 2005-06 to just over 25% projected for 2008-09.