Ryan Blames the Past for Buffalo’s 25% Tax Hike — But Where Did the Money Go?

Our rooky Mayor, Sean Ryan recently announced a 25 % property tax increase much to the incredulity of every property owner and renter in the city. Ryan took to the airways and blamed a 107 million dollar deficient, and the unprecedented tax hike on a problem he inherited, then took a page out of the Donald Trump play book and blamed the problem on a “generation of mismanagement,” which is a direct shot at Byron Brown.

Ryan is pledging to fix the problem on the backs of the taxpayers, who simply cannot afford to live anywhere anymore. I was curious exactly where the city’s money comes from and where it goes so I went to CHAT GPT.

Here’s a clear, factual breakdown of the City of Buffalo’s 2024 budget (FY 2023–2024 adopted budget) based on official city budget documents.

City of Buffalo Budget Breakdown (2024)

TOTAL GENERAL FUND BUDGET ≈ $576–580 MILLION (GENERAL FUND)

This is the main operating budget that covers day-to-day city services.

Major Spending Categories (General Fund)

PUBLIC SAFETY (LARGEST SHARE)

• Police Department: ~ $100–106 million

• Fire Department: ~ $70–73 million

Combined public safety = ~30–35% of total budget

PUBLIC WORKS / INFRASTRUCTURE

• Public Works, Parks, Streets: ~ $35–40 million

Includes: Snow removal Road maintenance Garbage collection support

EMPLOYEE COSTS (HUGE PORTION)

• Personal Services (salaries): ~$230+ million Fringe Benefits (health, pensions): very large share Together, workforce costs = over 50% of spending

DEBT, TRANSFERS & MISC.

• Transfers (including school support): ~$90–100 million

• Judgments, settlements, debt-related costs: tens of millions

REVENUE SOURCES (WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM)

Buffalo relies heavily on outside funding:

• State Aid: ~30%

• County Sales Tax Share: ~18%

• City Revenues (property tax, fees): ~40–45%

• Federal Aid: small but present (~2–5%)