Overview
Buffalo’s current fiscal year adopted General Fund budget (FY2025–26) is $622 million, as stated by the State Comptroller. The Mayor’s proposed 2026–27 General Fund budget totals $681,104,790 — about 10% above the adopted $622 million, but only 1.5% above the City Comptroller’s projected actual FY2025–26 spending of approximately $671 million. The Comptroller found a projected structural deficit of approximately $103 million and warned that $56.9 million of the proposed budget rests on non-recurring revenues or revenues that may not materialize.
Source: NY State Comptroller, City of Buffalo Budget Review B26-1-5.
At a glance
Adopted figure and proposed-budget detail (kept separate)
Adopted: FY2025–26 General Fund budget $622 million (rounded as stated by the Comptroller). No adopted breakdown is available in the review.
Proposed 2026–27 only — revenues, summing exactly to $681,104,790:
| Real Property Taxes (proposed) | $230,603,625 |
| Sales Tax (proposed) | $122,668,500 |
| State Aid — AIM (proposed) | $161,285,233 |
| Non-recurring Revenues (proposed) | $56,850,000 |
| Other Revenue (proposed) | $109,697,432 |
| Total proposed revenues | $681,104,790 |
Proposed 2026–27 only — appropriations, summing exactly to $681,104,790:
| Personal Services & Benefits (proposed) | $478,308,522 |
| Transfer to Buffalo Public Schools (proposed) | $70,822,758 |
| Transfer to Buffalo Debt Service (proposed) | $29,564,633 |
| Other Appropriations (proposed) | $102,408,877 |
| Total proposed appropriations | $681,104,790 |
Proposed-budget risks stated in the review: $56.9 million of non-recurring or uncertain revenues — $16.2 million past-due collections, $15.2 million parking-structure sale, $15 million Temporary Municipal Assistance aid, $10.5 million gaming revenues with no current Compact agreement. A real property tax increase of $46.1 million is included in the proposed budget. Separately, the solid waste fund owed the general fund $27.3 million at March 30, 2026, and the proposed budget relies on a 25% solid waste user-fee increase. Five of the city’s eight collective bargaining agreements were expired, with the rest expiring June 2026, and the proposed budget does not account for resulting increases.
Source: NY State Comptroller, City of Buffalo Budget Review B26-1-5.
Elected officials
| Mayor | Sean Ryan |
| City Comptroller | Barbara Miller-Williams |
| Common Council President | Joel Feroleto |
| Council Majority Leader | Leah M. Halton-Pope |
| Council President Pro-Tempore | Zeneta B. Everhart |
| Council Member | Bryan J. Bollman |
| Council Member | Joseph Golombek Jr. |
| Council Member | Mitch Nowakowski |
| Council Member | David A. Rivera |
| Council Member | Christopher P. Scanlon |
| Council Member | Rasheed N.C. Wyatt |
Sources & notes
- Only source used: NY State Comptroller, City of Buffalo – Budget Review (B26-1-5), May 8, 2026. Budget Review B26-1-5 (PDF).
- Sum checks: proposed revenues exact ($681,104,790); proposed appropriations exact ($681,104,790). The adopted $622 million is a rounded figure as stated and cannot be sum-checked.
- What is not claimed: no adopted-budget breakdown exists on this page; all detailed tables are the proposed 2026–27 budget; the reported May 26, 2026 Council passage is not used (official adopted book not retrieved).
- Jurisdiction palette: No verified New York jurisdiction palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a jurisdiction color.