A Change Buffalo PAC Campaign
Make It Hard Again.
Buffalo has spent its savings, its federal relief and its margin for error. The law that rescued this city in 2003 is still on the books. We are calling on the Governor of New York to help put the control board back in charge, until Buffalo’s books are whole again.
The numbers
The disaster unfolding in front of us
Buffalo did not fall off a cliff. It walked there, one budget at a time.
In May, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli put it plainly: “Buffalo used up its savings and one-time federal pandemic aid to cover past budget shortfalls, and now that money is gone and there’s no extra cushion left.” His office projected a structural deficit of about $103 million in the City’s 2026-27 general fund, the gap between what Buffalo collects every year and what it spends every year 1,2.
Here is how we got here, in the words and numbers of the people who watch the books:
- The cushion is gone. The City has used $331 million in federal stimulus to help fund operations since 2020-21 1. The control board reports that, as of the City’s audited June 30, 2025 results, $0 in unassigned fund balance was available 4.
- One-time money is paying recurring bills. The proposed 2026-27 budget leaned on $56.9 million in non-recurring or uncertain revenue: a parking-ramp sale, back collections, temporary state aid and casino payments with no current agreement 1. The control board counted roughly $52.6 million in one-time revenues and ordered a gap-closing plan 3.
- Albany keeps writing emergency checks. The State sent an extra $30 million to close the 2025-26 books, then $25 million more in non-recurring aid after this year’s budget was adopted 4. That help is not guaranteed to come again.
- Homeowners are paying for the drift. The adopted budget raised the property-tax levy 19 percent, an increase of $35.1 million in one year 4. The City’s own revised four-year plan, reviewed by the control board in July, projects another 10 percent next year, then 6 and 5 percent 22.
- The bill for labor peace is still unwritten. Five of the City’s eight union contracts had expired when the Comptroller’s office reviewed the budget, and the other three were due to expire in June 2026. The budget did not account for the cost of new agreements 1. By July, the control board reported that every City labor contract had expired 22.
- Credit markets have noticed. In July, S&P cut Buffalo’s general-obligation rating from A+ to A, Fitch cut it from A+ to A with a negative outlook, and Moody’s kept its A1 rating but moved the outlook to negative, citing “declining reserves, and continued reliance on one-time revenues” 6.
- The plan is overdue. The control board says a revised 2027-2030 financial plan is required to match the adopted budget 4. In an October 12 letter to the Mayor, the City Comptroller noted that the recommended capital budget and four-year capital program, due October 7 under the City Charter, had not been filed as of October 9 9.
- City Hall is fighting itself over debt. The Mayor’s office has asked the Council to approve up to $20.06 million in borrowing through the control board, the first such request since 2007, with a Council vote expected October 27 7,8. The City Comptroller says she learned of it from a public filing and has asked for a full cost analysis, while she and Council members remain in court over earlier borrowing 7,9.
None of these facts is a secret. Each one comes from the State Comptroller, the control board, the City Comptroller or the rating agencies. Together they describe a city that has run out of room.
2003 to 2012
We’ve been here before
In 2003, with Buffalo out of money and out of options, New York created the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority at the recommendation of the State Comptroller’s office 13. For nine years it ran in a control period, what Buffalo calls “hard” mode, with the power to approve the City’s financial plan, its contracts, its borrowing and its labor agreements 13.
It was not painless. The board froze city wages from 2004 to 2007, a step credited with saving the city some $150 million 14. But it worked. Buffalo’s available fund balance climbed to $113.5 million by 2008 13. After three consecutive years of balanced budgets and a return to the bond markets on its own, the City earned its way out: in May 2012 the board voted 6–1 to step back to an advisory role, effective July 1, 2012 13,14.
Then we let it slip. As Investigative Post put it this year, as costs rose, City Hall “blew through those reserves rather than raise taxes,” and when the reserves ran out after 2019, federal COVID relief kept the lights on 5.
There is a lesson in the freeze, too. Fred Floss, the board’s secretary, has said the city is still recovering from years of below-market pay 15. We take that seriously. Hard Mode this time should be about a credible plan and honest contracts, not a blunt instrument.
Advice, ignored
Why advisory isn’t enough anymore
Since 2012 the control board has been allowed to watch, warn and recommend. Under the law, in an advisory period it may “comment on” the budget and financial plan, “review and comment on” borrowing, and “assess the impact” of labor contracts. The City only has to “publicly respond” 11. Nothing it says is binding.
We’ve said for the last few years that there were going to be large budget deficits and that there wouldn’t be unencumbered reserves to cover those deficits.
Fred Floss, Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, to WBEN, March 2026 17
The warnings were right, and they changed nothing. Political analyst Ken Kruly summed up the problem: because the board is advisory, “they can’t do anything that specifically controls or makes changes in what the city is doing” 17.
Think about what is coming in the next year. A stack of expired labor contracts to settle. A capital plan that is late. A four-year plan that must be rewritten. A Mayor and a Comptroller in court over debt. Under advisory status the board can only comment on all of it. Under a control period, no labor contract binds the City unless the board approves it, and no borrowing happens without its sign-off 10.
The question is already on the table at City Hall. In May, Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope filed a resolution asking the board to return to hard oversight. Mayor Sean Ryan, who sits on the board as an ex officio member, called the idea “irresponsible,” warning it would freeze the wages of workers who have yet to catch up 15,16. That is a fair worry, and the law answers it: a wage freeze is a power the board may use, not an automatic result 10.
Plain English
What Hard Mode means
A control period under the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority Act (Public Authorities Law §3858) gives the board real authority over the City’s finances and the agencies it funds 10. In practice, that means:
A binding plan
The board approves or rejects the City’s four-year financial plan and can adopt its own changes. No officer may spend beyond the plan 10.
Contracts that fit the plan
No collective bargaining agreement is valid until the board approves it. It may also review other contracts and any settlement over $50,000 10.
Borrowing with a second signature
No City borrowing without the board’s review and approval, and the board can set spending ceilings for covered agencies 10.
Orders that stick
If the City fails to carry out the plan, the board can act after seven days’ notice and issue binding orders to officials 10.
A freeze only if essential
The board may freeze wages or hiring only on a finding that it is essential to a balanced budget, and unions can negotiate certified deferrals instead 10.
Who decides, and when
The decision belongs to the BFSA board, which needs at least five favorable votes to act 12. The law lets it reimpose a control period at any time if it finds that a fiscal crisis is imminent, or that any of these events has happened or is substantially likely and imminent 10:
- the City fails to adopt a balanced budget, financial plan or required budget modification;
- the City misses a payment of principal or interest on its bonds or notes;
- the City or a covered agency runs an operating deficit of 1 percent or more in a major fund;
- the City’s chief fiscal officer cannot certify the City’s access to the credit markets; or
- the City violates the Act.
The board does not have to wait for a missed bond payment. And the law already requires it, every year of the advisory period, to consider each of those triggers and publish its determination 10.
Our ask
What we are asking the Governor to do
We will not pretend the Governor can flip a switch. Under the law, only the control board can reimpose a control period. But the Governor appoints seven of its nine directors and names its chair and vice chair 12, and the State’s budget is what has kept Buffalo afloat. So we are asking the Governor to do three things:
- Call on the board to act. Publicly urge the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to make the determination the law requires: test the City’s finances against every trigger in §3858 and, finding a fiscal crisis imminent, reimpose a control period. Whatever it decides, publish the finding and the reasons 10.
- Fill the board and name its leaders. The board’s June 2026 roster lists seven directors for nine seats, counting the two ex officio members, with its secretary presiding as chair pro tempore. In July the board itself voted to ask the Governor’s office about filling its vacant positions and naming a chair and vice chair 4,22. Appoint directors with deep public-finance experience who are ready to use the full powers of the Act, and designate a chair and vice chair 12.
- Tie State help to a real plan. Make any further extraordinary aid, or any new borrowing authority for the board, contingent on a balanced four-year plan approved by the board. If the board will not act, propose the legislative changes needed to protect Buffalo’s taxpayers, as the State did in 2003 13,18.
This is about the City’s finances, not about any person. Every Mayor, Council and Comptroller who comes after this one will inherit either a balanced book or a bigger hole.
Building tomorrow, today
Stability is the foundation of revival
Change Buffalo PAC exists to help this region grow again. That is exactly why we are asking for discipline now. A city that cannot balance its books cannot cut taxes, cannot fix its streets and parks, and cannot convince an employer or a young family to bet on it.
- Low taxes come from discipline, not drift. Years of patching budgets with one-time money ended in a 19 percent levy increase 4. A binding plan is the surest way to keep the next increase from being necessary.
- Investors read the ratings. Every negative rating action makes borrowing for roofs, roads and firehouses more expensive. Stability is a competitive advantage we can win back.
- Neighborhoods need the basics. When reserves are gone, the first things cut are the things residents notice: plowing, paving, parks and code enforcement.
- Trust makes reform possible. People will support bold investment when they can see the plan and believe the numbers.
Hard Mode is a bridge, not a destination. It pairs with the reforms we already champion: Open the Books, so every budget, contract and debt is public; the Fiscal Responsibility Charter Amendment, which would write a rolling four-year financial plan and limits on one-time money into the City Charter; and The Taxpayer Dividend, so savings flow back to the people who pay. The control board can hold the line while those permanent reforms take root.
Meet Our Founder
A word from our Founder
“I started Change Buffalo in 2009 because I believed this region could lead again. I still do. But no turnaround survives a broken balance sheet.
“Buffalo has spent its savings and its federal relief, and now it is asking homeowners to make up the difference. We have been here before. From 2003 to 2012 the control board held the line, and Buffalo came out stronger, with real reserves and its own access to the bond market restored.
“Nobody wants a control board forever. But the alternative to discipline now is a much harder reckoning later. I am asking the Governor to help us make it hard again, so that Buffalo can finally make it.”
Matt Ricchiazzi, Founder, Change Buffalo PAC · About Matt
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Add your name
Stand with Buffalo taxpayers. Add your name to the call for the Governor to help make the control board hard again. We will never sell your information, and we will only ever share the total number of people who have signed, not your name or email.
Thank you for standing with Buffalo.
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Contact the Governor’s office
Tell the Governor, in your own words, to call on the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority to reimpose a control period, and to fill its board.
- Send a message on the Governor’s official contact form
- Call (518) 474-8390, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 20
Speak to the board
The BFSA board’s next meeting is Wednesday, December 2, 2026, 12:30–3:30 p.m. at the Ellicott Square Building. To address the board, register in advance by calling 716-853-0907 or through the BFSA website 21.
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Sources
- Office of the NYS Comptroller, “DiNapoli Releases Budget Review for City of Buffalo,” May 8, 2026. www.osc.ny.gov
- Office of the NYS Comptroller, City of Buffalo – Budget Review (B26-1-5), May 8, 2026. www.osc.ny.gov
- Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, “BFSA Issues Findings on Mayor’s Proposed City of Buffalo 2026-27 Budget,” May 8, 2026. bfsa.ny.gov
- Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, Board of Directors’ meeting book, June 17, 2026 (Analysis of the City’s 2026-27 Adopted Budget; 2025-26 Third Quarter Report; BFSA budget and roster). bfsa.ny.gov
- Geoff Kelly, “Buffalo adopts a budget that puts city on firmer financial ground,” Investigative Post, May 29, 2026. investigativepost.org
- City of Buffalo Comptroller, Financial Reports (S&P, July 7; Moody’s, July 13; Fitch, July 27, 2026). www.buffalocomptrollerny.gov
- WBEN, “Buffalo to borrow $20 million for emergency building repairs,” Oct. 20, 2026. www.audacy.com
- WKBW, “Buffalo seeks to borrow $20 million through control board for infrastructure repairs,” Oct. 2026. www.wkbw.com
- The Buffalo Criterion, “Comptroller Seeks Fiscal Justification and Detailed Cost Analysis of Proposed ‘Declaration of Need’ Financing” (Common Council Items 26-000830 and 26-000850), Oct. 2026. The Comptroller’s letter is dated Oct. 12, 2026, was filed with the Council as Item 26-000850 and was posted on the Comptroller’s site on Oct. 14. www.thebuffalocriterion.com
- N.Y. Public Authorities Law §3858, Control period. www.nysenate.gov
- N.Y. Public Authorities Law §3859, Advisory period. www.nysenate.gov
- N.Y. Public Authorities Law §3853, Administration of the authority. www.nysenate.gov
- Office of the NYS Comptroller, “DiNapoli: Buffalo’s Financial Condition Improves,” Jan. 2014. www.osc.ny.gov
- WBFO (Buffalo Toronto Public Media), “Buffalo control board shifting to ‘soft’ status,” May 29, 2012. www.btpm.org
- WKBW, “Buffalo lawmaker calls for hard control board as city faces long-term budget concerns,” June 2026. www.wkbw.com
- Buffalo Toronto Public Media, “Mayor Ryan responds to Halton-Pope’s call for hard control board,” May 29, 2026. www.btpm.org
- WBEN, “Control Board looking at Ryan’s $500M loan request,” Mar. 25, 2026. www.audacy.com
- N.Y. Senate Bill S9161A (2025-2026), BFSA secondary bonding authority; amended and recommitted to the Senate Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee on Apr. 13, 2026; not enacted (LegiScan). legiscan.com
- City of Buffalo, Four-Year Financial Plan 2026-2030 (original plan; its out-year tax assumptions were revised in July, see source 22). www.buffalony.gov
- Office of the Governor, “Send a Message to the Governor” (official contact page). www.governor.ny.gov
- Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, meeting calendar and Privilege of the Floor. bfsa.ny.gov
- Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, Board of Directors’ meeting minutes, July 29, 2026 (revised 2027-2030 City financial plan; labor-contract status; communication with the Governor’s office). bfsa.ny.gov
Figures are as reported by the cited sources as of October 21, 2026. Change Buffalo PAC does not endorse or oppose candidates for office. This campaign concerns official policy actions under the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority Act. Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it.
