Change Buffalo PAC Committee Report | October 17, 2026
The Situation
On October 15, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz released the 2027 Proposed Erie County Budget. The headline numbers:
- Spending: $2.408 billion across all operating funds, up 5.5 percent, or about $125 million, from last year (BTPM).
- Property taxes: The tax rate falls from $3.09 to $3.01 per $1,000 of assessed value, but the tax levy, the total the county collects, rises 3.6 percent, or $12.7 million, staying under the state tax cap (Erie County). The proposed levy is $360.6 million, up from $347.9 million (Budget Message).
- Programs: The County Executive called the plan “very tight, with no new programs or services except for the expected opening of Willowdale Park in 2027,” and pointed to federal cost shifts, especially in SNAP and Medicaid, as the main source of pressure (Erie County).
The most consequential line is the sales tax. According to the Budget Message, the State authorization for Erie County’s additional 1.75 percent sales tax expires on November 30, 2027. Those rates are estimated to generate $437.1 million in 2027, roughly 62 percent of the sales tax revenue budgeted for county purposes. Renewal requires approval by both the County Legislature and the State Legislature during their 2027 sessions. The Budget Message notes the Legislature has approved every prior extension and warns that without renewal the county would face a loss “that no combination of property tax increases or service reductions could reasonably replace.”
The same document projects budget gaps of $65.6 million in 2028, $73.8 million in 2029 and $68.5 million in 2030, and lists options to close them that include tax-cap overrides and changes to how sales tax is shared with the NFTA, cities and towns (Budget Message).
The response has begun. On behalf of the Legislature’s minority caucus, Legislator Lindsay Lorigo said that while the administration points to a lower rate, “the county will still collect millions more dollars,” and questioned adding 32 jobs while eliminating 35 vacant positions, as well as the Willowdale Park priority (BTPM).
What happens next: The County’s budget timeline calls for Legislature review and public hearings in November and lists December 5 for the annual budget adoption meeting. On November 3, voters in County Legislature Districts 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11 also have contested legislative races (VOICE Buffalo election guide). Sales tax renewal then comes before the County Legislature during its 2027 session.
What It Means for the Change Buffalo Agenda
This budget sets up the most important fiscal decision the county will make in years, and it is the reason we launched Reform Before Renewal.
The case for reform is in the county’s own numbers. When 62 percent of county-purpose sales tax depends on a temporary authorization, and out-year gaps are already projected, “renew as usual” is not a plan. The rate-versus-levy distinction matters too: a falling rate with a rising levy means homeowners in aggregate still pay more. Our county agenda and proposed Property Tax Levy Limit Law focus on the levy, the number taxpayers actually feel.
Renewal is leverage for good government. We propose that any renewal be paired with a binding, multi-year plan for shared services, measurable savings, and property tax relief through The Taxpayer Dividend, with a public scorecard. That is not a threat to essential services; the Budget Message is right that losing this revenue would be severe. It is a request that the region get a durable return for a decision it makes only every few years.
Federal cost shifts strengthen, not weaken, that case. If mandated costs are rising, the county has even more reason to consolidate and share services and publish what it saves.
What Members Can Do
- Get notified about the November hearings. Dates have not been announced. The Legislature invites residents to request notices of hearings and meetings by emailing the Clerk of the Legislature at Olivia.Owens@erie.gov (Erie County Legislature). The Legislature’s office is at 92 Franklin Street, 4th Floor, Buffalo; phone (716) 858-7500.
- Prepare testimony. Ask that any 2027 sales tax renewal be tied to property tax levy relief and a public scorecard of shared-services savings. Keep it to the facts above and to your own household.
- Call or write your county legislator before the December 5 adoption meeting listed on the budget timeline and ask where they stand on pairing renewal with reform.
- Vote by November 3. If you live in a district with a contested Legislature race, read the candidates’ positions on sales tax and spending. Change Buffalo PAC does not endorse or oppose candidates in these Committee Reports.
- Become a Neighborhood Captain to help recruit neighbors to testify, or join the Reimagined Tax Systems working group via our Get Involved page. Contact us for a briefing.
