BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A Christmas crisis looks to have been averted after the Buffalo Common Council voted 5-3 to keep $30 million in federal funds from going back to Washington.
This was money that the City of Buffalo has had for years under the American Rescue Plan, a federal law to help assist the nation recover from COVID-19. But with a New Year's deadline, there was a holiday rush to get the funds approved in time -- and lawmakers said this was not a good process. They said that process was one that was marred by delays, incomplete information and complex federal regulations.
"I can speak to what's gone on in my role here for the last two months, and there's been absolute transparency," said Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon. "Any question that's been asked by the council, we've provided the information and quite frankly we've provided it numerous times to all the groups that applied for funding, (both) those who didn't qualify and those who did qualify."
New York State Senator Sean Ryan, who has announced his candidacy for mayor, criticized the process that took place.
"The City or Buffalo's rollout of ARP funding has been a disaster," Ryan said in a statement. "Buffalo is in desperate need of strong leadership that the current acting mayor cannot and will not provide. Everyday Buffalonians and dedicated community organizations shouldn’t have to suffer for these kinds of mistakes from their local leaders."
"Acting Mayor Scanlon promised change, yet here he is taking Byron Brown's plan for this funding across the finish line. Putting this off until the very last second, he forced the council to choose between a deficient plan or sending ARP funds back to the federal government."
In total, $19 million will go to fund local organizations and $11 million will go to retroactively pay for capital improvements with the Buffalo Water Board.
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.
