The Erie County Legislature’s Minority Caucus has sent a letter to Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin requesting a Finance and Management Committee discussion on the 2018 year-end surplus.

A few weeks ago, County Executive Poloncarz submitted his budget balancing amendments following a surplus of over $46.5 million from 2018.. The county executive has already pledged to give $5 million to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery without first seeking approval of the Legislature. Instead of giving $5 million to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Minority Caucus is proposing $2 million toward poverty to be split between the City of Buffalo and surrounding communities as well as $2 million for a two-year pilot program for body cameras to be used by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.

Minority Leader Lorigo said, “Several months ago, the county executive rejected our proposal to cut taxes for every Erie County resident claiming it would ‘blow a hole in the budget’. Now, we have a nearly 50 million dollar surplus and he is insisting we gift 5 million of that money to the Albright-Knox. I believe many county taxpayers would agree that money could be better spent on public safety initiatives, fighting poverty, or improving infrastructure. This is not the county executive’s money to spend as he sees fit. We need to have a discussion at the Legislature to sort out our spending priorities and fund initiatives that best serve the taxpayers of Erie County.”

Legislator Dixon said, “In December, my colleagues and I proposed a tax cut. The county executive lied to us and insisted it would decimate the budget. 5 months later, taxes have gone up and we are now talking about a surplus. This money should have been returned to taxpayers when we had the chance. Now, we need to sort out our priorities. We have extensive discussions at the Legislature on fighting poverty and how we can help the Erie County Sheriff fund public safety initiatives. This is something that warrants further discussion and I hope my colleagues in the Majority Caucus will work with us to facilitate the conversation.”

Legislator Rath said, “It is disappointing that the county executive refused to return this money in the form of a tax cut. We are now faced with an opportunity to invest it in programs and services that could benefit everyone. My colleagues and I believe further public discussion is necessary to ensure we are spending this surplus responsibly.”

Legislator Mills said, “It is surprising that we have such a large surplus when just months ago, the county executive claimed we couldn’t afford to cut taxes. Our roads are in terrible condition, poverty is a widespread problem, and we regularly hear from the Sheriff’s office about the lack of funding for body cameras along with other life-saving equipment. These are just a few of the possible ways we can invest this money. Looking ahead, tax relief should be the number one priority in 2019.”

A copy of the letter is here.