Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon, the city Comptroller and Council members say Senator Ryan has ‘gone rogue’ by proposing his plan to fix city finances with bonds.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon — along with City Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams and Council Members Bryan Bollman and Leah Halton-Pope — are voicing opposition to a plan by State Senator Sean Ryan to address the city’s finances.
Last Sunday, Senator Ryan announced legislation that will allow the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to issue Deficit Financing Bonds worth more than $70 million. Ryan said that this will allow the city to address the budget gap.
But Buffalo officials decry the plan, saying Senator Ryan is superseding his authority and didn’t consult anyone at City Hall.
“I’m going to be very clear. From my standpoint, Senator Sean Ryan’s gone rogue,” Acting Mayor Scanlon said. “He’s attempting to operate as mayor, comptroller, and Common Council all the way from Albany. He’s attempting to circumvent the City of Buffalo Charter, and the authority and responsibility that the elected officials standing up here with me today have.”
Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams took exception to Ryan’s plan, calling it premature, while also recognizing that the city’s finances aren’t in the best shape.
“Any solutions, must be agreed upon by the democratically elected officials of the City of Buffalo,” Miller-Williams said. “There is no need to exclude us and leave us out. I do not support superseding that decision-making, leaving it up to New York State Senator Sean Ryan and any other unelected members, specifically those individuals that serve with the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority.”
Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope says that no one consulted with the Common Council from Senator Ryan’s office.
“We will not allow our local authority to be bypassed or our role to be diminished,” Halton-Pope said. “The council has a duty to scrutinize the bill, demand transparency and ensure that borrowed dollars serve the people, not just the bottom line, and while fiscal stability is essential, true progress requires collaboration.”
Senator Sean Ryan responded by holding his own press conference Friday night, and didn’t hold back his feelings about what fellow Democrats said about his plan.
“Chris Scanlon created Buffalo’s financial mess,” Senator Ryan said. “He has been in leadership for over 13 years in the city of Buffalo. Now he’s trying to defect deflect blame on to me.”
“I don’t have the authority to hold Chris Scanlon’s hand, to teach him how to be a grown adult and how to run the city of Buffalo,” Ryan continued.
Senator Ryan maintains that lawmakers in Buffalo approached state representatives for solutions to fix their budget gap, and his proposal does that.
“They’re asking the state to approve their plan to fix the budget,” Ryan said. “So they came to me and said ‘we need help with our budget. ‘They came to me and said ‘we cannot manage our finances, we are in trouble, we need extraordinary help from New York State, we need you to do things that usually aren’t done.’
For weeks there has been a back and forth between lawmakers at the state and city level.
During each press conference, 2 On Your Side asked elected officials why there seems to be a standoff, and why they all can’t get together and come to an agreement.
“Politics,” said acting Mayor Scanlon.
“Politics,” Senator Ryan said.
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