Erie County Legislature Majority Caucus Votes to Revive Empty Storefronts, Support Small Businesses, and Fund Roads, Bridges, and First Responders

The Erie County Legislature’s Majority Caucus today passed the County’s 2025 year-end budget close-out together with the 2026 Consolidated Bond Resolution, advancing a package that redirects $2.3 million to neighborhood-scale revitalization while authorizing $92.5 million in capital investment across roads, bridges, libraries, parks, and public safety facilities.

The centerpiece of the Caucus’s action is an amendment to the year-end resolution that creates a new $1 million Storefront Community Revitalization Pilot, dedicates $125,000 to the Western New York Law Center’s Small Business Clinic, and provides $1.2 million in Community and Neighborhood Development resources for use across legislative districts.

The Caucus also redirected funds from two Economic Development programs to maximize neighborhood-scale impact, while maintaining the County’s Unassigned Fund Balance at roughly 10 percent of the 2025 Adopted General Fund Budget.

THE CAUCUS AMENDMENT

The Caucus amendment authorizes three new neighborhood investments funded through 2025 designations:

• Storefront Com munity Revitalization Pilot ($1,000,000). A new County program to sup port commercial corridor improvements and small business district recovery launching in 2026.

• WNY Law Center Small Business Clinic ($125,000). Direct support for legal services that help small businesses and entrepreneurs navigate the early years that most often determine whether a business survives.

• Community and Neighborhood Devel opment Legislative Earmarks ($1,208,429). District-level resources for community priorities identified in partnership with neighborhood organizations and residents.

2025 CLOSE-OUT

The resolution closes the County’s books on fiscal year 2025 with a $29 million budgetary surplus, ending the year 1.48 percent below bud get. Positive variances included $21.2 million in sales tax growth, $20.8 million in salary and fringe savings outside the Department of Social Services, $10.7 million in interest earnings, and $5.5 million in indigent legal refunds and state reimbursements.

The Caucus also acknowledged cost pressures that require continued attention. The 2025 books reflect $7.2 million in overtime expenses driven primarily by the Sheriff’s Office, $4.6 mil lion in increased costs for services to special needs children, and $3.5 million in increased costs for court-ordered mental health services. Caucus members indicated that each of these areas will receive sustained legislative oversight during the upcoming 2026 mid-year budget hearings.

After $27.7 million in re-appropriations and the Caucus amendment’s new designations, the County’s Unassigned Fund Balance closes 2025 at $150.8 million.

2026 CAPITAL BOND PACKAGE

The Legislature also authorized the 2026 Consolidated Bond Resolution, a $92.5 mil lion capital investment package financed through $27.7 million in state and federal aid and $64.75 million in County obliga tions. Authorized projects include the Regional Communications Trunked Radio System for first responders, federal-aid road and bridge rehabilitation across the County, energy conservation upgrades at County facilities, library improvements, ADA accessibility work in County parks, and infrastructure upgrades at the Sheriff’s Holding Center and Correctional Facility.